NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 – The High Court of Kenya has cleared the way for the auction of properties linked to former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju after dismissing a case seeking to block the forced sale in a long-running multi-billion shilling loan dispute.
In a ruling delivered on March 9, Justice J.W.W. Mong’are struck out an application by Dari Limited and Tuju that sought to stop the auction of two Karen properties — Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary and Tamarind Karen — as well as Dari Business Park.
“The Plaintiffs are now re-filing the same application in this suit which is clearly res judicata,” the judge ruled, adding that the amended suit could not stand.
The court also lifted earlier interim orders that had temporarily stopped the auction, allowing the lender and appointed auctioneers to proceed with the recovery process.
The properties had been used as security for a loan facility advanced to Dari Limited by the East African Development Bank (EADB).
To facilitate the sale, the lender had appointed Knight Frank as valuers and Garam Investment Auctioneers to handle the auction process.
According to the ruling, the dispute had already been determined in earlier proceedings, including a summary judgment issued in June 2019 by the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, which ordered the borrowers to pay more than $15 million under a facility agreement signed in 2015.
That judgment was later recognised and registered by the Kenyan High Court in 2020, with subsequent appeals failing.
Justice Mong’are said the constitutional issues raised by Tuju’s companies were an attempt to reopen matters that had already been settled by multiple courts.
The dispute stems from a $9.3 million loan facility extended to Dari Limited in 2015 to finance property developments in Nairobi’s Karen suburb, including the Entim Sidai sanctuary and a luxury housing project.
After the loan fell into default, the lender initiated recovery proceedings, with the debt growing through accumulated interest and legal costs.
The bank is now seeking to recover more than Sh4.5 billion through the sale of the charged properties.
Previous attempts to auction the assets had been delayed by a series of court challenges filed by Tuju and his companies, including disputes over valuation reports and claims that part of the loan meant for development was never disbursed.
However, several rulings — including those by the Court of Appeal of Kenya and the Supreme Court of Kenya — have largely upheld the lender’s right to enforce the security.
With the latest High Court decision vacating the injunction orders, the lender can now proceed with the auction as it seeks to recover the outstanding loan.
