K1 Club is perhaps one of Nairobi’s most prominent entertainment venues.
Its location, as well as a diverse range of music and activities, make it an ideal destination for partygoers.
Mwangi Kirungo, also known as Kahama, who was an Eldoret-based businessman, founded the club in the 1980s.
Mwangi and his sons began investing in Nairobi in the early 1980s, following his release from prison on charges of involvement in the 1982 attempted coup.
As a family, they were able to purchase the Kenya International Hotel in Ngara using a bank loan. The facility was later called Kahama Hotel.
Following the successful acquisition, Mwangi purchased Tree Shade Hotel in Parklands, which was eventually renamed K1 Club.
During a previous interview, Kahama’s son Sammy Wakaina mentioned that one of the things that helped them in the early stages was the elimination of club entry fees.
The family had a prosperous period in the hospital industry, opening branches across the country.
The Kahama name grew so popular that the businessman used it as one of his official names.
Ahmed Omar Mandela: Meet the Brains Behind Nairobi’s CJ’s Restaurants
Unfortunately, Kahama died in 1998. At the time of his death, the family had established four hotels and a club.
The expansion of K1 encouraged Kahama’s sons to construct another branch, K2, along Baricho Road in Nairobi in 2001.
K2 ran for a few years before closing after the family was unable to get a lease renewal.
While Kahama’s dying request was for his family to remain intact and run the economic empire together, the family fulfilled the goal until 2011, when disagreements arose over the management of the estate, which was reported to be worth more than Ksh 2 billion.
Kahama’s widow said that his sons threatened to force her out of her marital house and excluded their sisters from the family company.
The sons, on the other hand, claim that their mother shut them out of the family office in Parklands.
The Kahama estate consists of Kahama hotels, the K1 Club and several parcels of land and properties in Nairobi and Nyahururu.
