Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju is a troubled man; for many Kenyans, it is hard to believe that a once powerful man is now in tears.
It all began 11 years ago; precisely the year 2015, when the East African Development Bank (EADB) granted the former Rarieda MP a loan of Sh.943.9 million to fund the acquisition and development of commercial units for sale in Nairobi.
In November 2018, contending that Dari Limited, a company registered under Tuju’s name, failed to repay the disbursed loan as per the agreement.
The EADB filed a case against Dari Limited in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales in the United Kingdom, with Tuju and his company duly filing a defence to the claim.
In June 2019, the EADB obtained a judgement against the appellants in London, and filed an application at the High Court in Nairobi under the Foreign Judgments Reciprocal Enforcement Act for recognition, registration and enforcement of the judgment in London.
In January 2020, Lady Justice Wilfred Okwany allowed the prayers sought by EADB ordering for the recognition, registration and enforcement of the Judgment in London.
Dari Limited unsuccessfully applied before the same court for orders to set aside the recognition of the judgement.
In April 2023, three years after the High Court ruled in favor of the admission of the London Judgment, and with the theatre of the multi-billion case shifting to Nairobi, Dari Limited filed an appeal seeking orders on the contention that the judgment in London was obtained fraudulently.
Justices Kathurima M’Inoti, Kibaya Laibuta and Gachoka Paul Mwaniki of the Court of Appeal ruled that the appeal by Dari Limited had no merit, observing that at the end of it all.
The appellant (Dari Limited) was merely hanging onto technicalities in order to avoid just obligations arising from the contract of guarantee.
Unsatified, in September 2024 Tuju moved to the High Court seeking an order of temporary injunction to block the EADB and Garam Investment Auctioneers from disposing of properties.
Lady Justice Njoki Mwangi, in her determination, ruled that valuation of the agency properties by Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy headquartered in London on the 15th July, 2024 can be ascertained.
Thus, she declared that the balance of convenience tilts in favor of EADB, allowing the bank to recoup the facility it advanced to Dari Limited.
A month after the ruling, Dari Limited, Raphael Tuju, his children Mano Tuju, Alma Tuju, and YMA Tuju filed another suit in October 2024.
They sought orders to prevent the EADB and Garam Auctioneers from auctioning the properties, and after nearly two years of deliberations, Lady Justice Wambua Mongare dismissed the suit, allowing the application by the bank and the Garam Auctioneers.
