Former Cabinet Secretary and ex-Raphael Tuju has suffered a major legal blow after the High Court allowed the auction of his Dari Business Park in Karen to proceed over a disputed Ksh2.2 billion loan.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, May 20, the court declined to stop the planned sale of the multi-billion-shilling property, clearing the way for auctioneers to proceed with the recovery process tied to the loan Tuju reportedly secured from a commercial bank in 2015.
The court, however, temporarily halted the auction of another property linked to the former Rarieda MP, Entim Sidai, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Judge-issued stay orders barred the sale of Entim Sidai for now but did not extend the same protection to Dari Business Park, which has been at the centre of a long-running legal dispute between Tuju and the lender.
As part of the ruling, the court directed Tuju to deposit Ksh50 million within 30 days as security. Failure to comply with the order could open the door for the auction of the Entim Sidai property as well.
The case stems from a loan facility reportedly obtained by Tuju in 2015 to expand his investments in Karen. The former Cabinet Secretary is said to have defaulted on repayments, prompting the lender to seek legal redress.
In 2019, the bank moved to a UK court, where it secured orders allowing the seizure of Dari Business Park, which had been used as collateral for the loan. Kenyan courts later recognised the foreign judgment.
Tuju later returned to court in 2024 seeking to stop the auction of the Karen property and another parcel along Ngong Road, arguing that the process was unfair.
The ruling also comes months after dramatic scenes at the property in March this year, when Tuju claimed he had been forcefully evicted by security officers and auctioneers allegedly acting on behalf of the new owners.
At the time, the former Jubilee Party Secretary General accused the government of backing the eviction and linked the incident to his brief disappearance before resurfacing nearly 24 hours later.
Tuju has consistently maintained that he was willing and financially able to settle the loan but alleged that the bank declined his attempts and instead pushed ahead with the auction process.