An auctioneer has put two multibillion properties belonging to former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju for sale, a move the former minister describes as malicious.
Garam Investments Auctioneers placed a newspaper advertisement on Thursday, September 12, 2024, inviting buyers for the two properties.
The targeted properties include Dari Coffee Garden and Entim Sidai hotels, all in the leafy Karen area in Nairobi.
“A bidding deposit of Sh10 million for each of the properties by way of banker’s cheque or cash will be mandatory,” said the notice.
Speaking to the Nation , Mr Tuju said the East African Development Bank (EADB) and the auctioneer were aware of a court order he obtained, directing the parties to maintain the status quo, pending the determination of a petition in the High Court.
Mr Tuju said Justice Alfred Mabeya had directed the parties to maintain the status quo, meaning that the bank’s bid to auction the property to recover the loan, remains on hold.
“I am alive to the fact that a lender is not barred from recovering its money. However, what happens when the borrower is ready to pay? These are serious issues which need to be interrogated and thus the court directs that status quo be maintained until then,” Justice Mabeya had said in the ruling.
Mr Tuju and the lender have been fighting over the properties over a loan agreement entered in 2015.
Cases are pending before the Supreme Court, as Mr Tuju challenges the enforcement of a UK judgment, which found the former CS had breached the agreement and another one before the High Court, challenging the bank’s claim.
Mr Tuju has maintained that the loan agreement was two-phased- $9 million for the acquisition of the land and a further Sh290 million for the rehabilitation of the existing structures and construction of some demo villas.
He further said the lender failed to disburse the second phase and the loan repayment was to be obtained from the sale of the villas, a position that was confirmed by the bank’s official during cross-examination last month.
The bank on its part claims the balance was never disbursed because Dari Ltd breached the agreement by failing to pay $11,462,757 as of November 10, 2017.
When Dari Ltd failed to service the loan, the bank issued a demand for immediate repayment and filed a suit in the United Kingdom against the company and the guarantors—Mr Tuju, his children, and S.A.M. Company Limited.
In a judgment on June 19, 2019, Judge Daniel Toledano of the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, entered summary judgment against Dari and guarantors, jointly and severally, for $15,162,320.95.
The bank moved to the High Court in Kenya for recognition of the judgment, which happened on January 7, 2020.
Dari Ltd filed an application before the High Court, for setting aside the UK Judgment but it was rejected and the matter escalated to the Supreme Court.
The lender later appointed consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as receiver managers for the 20-acre property and the high-end hotel, Dari, that is currently under the management of Tamarind, but Mr Tuju obtained a court order halting the move.
