Shikusa Mall

For a decade, the Shikusa Mall - the biggest shopping mall in Kakamega county - has been an embarrassment for its owners and western Kenya.

Opened to the public in 2010 in Lubao a few kilometres north of Kakamega town, the goal was to attract 10,000 visitors a day with an array of entertainment, shops and eateries. But despite the grand plans neither stores nor shoppers came. Soon, it was classified by industry analysts as a "dead mall" and it became an unflattering symbol of Kenya's runaway speculation on real estate projects.