Temporary relief for Tuju as court allows him to appeal auction ruling

The High Court has granted former CS Raphael Tuju and his company Dari Limited leave to appeal a recent ruling in a Sh2.2 billion loan dispute involving auctioneers and property valuers.

In orders issued on Thursday at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Josephine Mongare directed the applicants to file the appeal and set Tuesday, March 17, for hearing and further directions.

This follows an application filed by Tuju and his company seeking permission to challenge the court’s ruling delivered on March 9, 2026

The case pits Dari Limited and Tuju against Garam Investment Auctioneers and Knight Frank Valuers Limited, among other respondents, over the planned auction of property linked to the disputed loan.

“Since this court is on transfer, let the application be served and be mentioned before the Presiding Judge of the Division on March 17, 2026, for directions,” the court ordered.

Justice Mongare further granted the applicants leave to appeal the March 9 ruling, pending further directions by the court.

The court also issued a penal notice warning that any disobedience or failure to observe the court order would attract legal consequences.

The dispute revolves around a Sh2.2 billion loan facility that has triggered a legal battle over the potential auction of properties associated with Tuju’s company.

Tuju had, in 2024, moved to court seeking injunction orders to stop Garam Investment Auctioneers from selling his prime properties in Karen and along Ngong Road in Nairobi.

Previous judgments, including one from a London court, had ruled against Tuju.

However, the former Rarieda lawmaker sought to reopen the case, arguing that there was new evidence in the Sh2.2 billion debt dispute involving the East African Development Bank.

 In 2023, the judges dismissed Tuju’s appeal to the Supreme Court of Kenya.

Back in the High Court, Tuju argued that the new evidence would tilt the outcome of the litigation in his favour.

The application was opposed by Garam Investment Auctioneers, the East African Development Bank and Knight Frank Valuers.

They asked the court to dismiss the application, arguing that it was an abuse of the court process, vexatious and intended to delay the loan recovery.

Justice Mongare, in her ruling dated March 9, 2026, noted that the plaintiffs were essentially asking the court to re-hear an injunction that had already been denied, reopen a debt already adjudicated internationally and recognised domestically, and re-litigate the enforceability of securities over properties already subject to multiple court orders.

“I find that the bank’s position and objection are well-founded that this application is a blatant abuse of court process, meant to frustrate its lawful recovery efforts after years of default and litigation,” Mongare said.

“There is no way that the plaintiffs’ amended plaint dated April 25, 2025, survives, and the same is accordingly struck out.”