Tuju kicked out of Karen property in 2am raid

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Raphael Tuju said police raided his property at 2am.

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Raphael Tuju has been kicked out of his Karen home by armed police officers.

In videos seen by The Standard, Tuju claimed that the armed officers stormed his property on Saturday 2am and forced him out.

He said the officers came with five police cars without number plates and raided his home.

“Fellow Kenyans, it is now 3.30am and I am still standing outside the gate. I have been kicked out by armed police officers who came in six unidentified vehicles,” Tuju said, adding, “This is pure impunity because they have no court orders to conduct such a raid.”

Tuju said the officers who covered their faces did not disclose who ordered them to execute the operation.

“They are all covering their faces and conversing in their mother tongue. I am wondering whether they are police officers, robbers or goons,” he said.

On Wednesday night, goons stormed Dari Business Park, which currently hosts Tamarind Restaurant, and tried to throw out Tuju, who is the owner of the property.

The raid by goons at the Karen property of Tuju is the latest in a series of similar incidents witnessed in the recent past, with no action being taken against the perpetrators.

It came hours after drama unfolded earlier at Fairways Hotel, belonging to Nyakera in Kisumu town and located at the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) building.

Tuju has been embroiled in a protracted legal dispute with the East African Development Bank (EADB) over a Sh1.9 billion debt.

On Tuesday, the High Court cleared the way for the bank to auction three properties in Karen to recover the loan advanced to Dari Limited a decade ago.

According to the former minister, the more than 100 strangers who arrived on motorbikes informed him they wanted him out since the property had a new owner.

“If they had valid eviction orders, they did not need to come with goons. Fortunately, after the commotion they created, my people informed officers at Karen Police Station who came to restore order,” said Tuju.

According to him, the move by EADB, and the years he has been in court, fighting to salvage his prime properties in Karen, Nairobi, have been a source of unending anguish.

From his own mouth, the Judiciary has denied him a voice, with the Supreme Court declining to hear his case, and the lower court granted his rival a chance to get a pound of flesh, close to his heart, blocked his path to an appeal, and it reeks of corruption.

 He said on Wednesday night that a former judge and a lawyer were allegedly nabbed while seeking a kickback to implore a judge to allow him to move to the Court of Appeal.

He further said Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary, Tamarind Karen and Dari Business Park will only get a new owner over his dead body.

“They have to kill me and bury me in Rarieda,” he said.

Nevertheless, EADB, the orders issued by Commercial Court judge Wayua Mong’are, striking out the case that had blocked it from auctioning Entim Sidai and transferring Dari Business Park to a new owner, was the end of the road for a debtor who had failed to honour his end of the bargain.

EADB argued that he knew he ought to have honoured his end of the bargain.

The battle between Tuju and EADB has been nothing but rounds of legal thrill and a seat-edge watch drama that gets more intriguing.

Tuju tried to overturn the United Kingdom judgment that paved the way for the bank to come after him, fought off an auction of the properties, sought the removal of Supreme Court judges after they shut him out for filing a petition for their removal before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

He also lodged a criminal complaint against EADB senior officials and defended a bankruptcy case filed by EADB, and even moved to the East Africa Court of Justice.

On the other hand, EADB went after his rent, sought to have Tuju and his three children, Mano, Alma and Yma, jailed or fined for contempt of court and filed a case to declare them bankrupt.

Tuju’s company, Dari Ltd, entered into an agreement with the bank on April 10, 2015, under which it agreed to give Dari a Sh943.9 million ($9.3 million) loan.

The loan was for the acquisition of a 22-acre forested land dubbed Entim Sidai in Karen and the purchase of a 94-year-old bungalow built by a Scottish missionary, Dr Albert Patterson, which operated a high-end restaurant and 14 rooms.

Meanwhile, Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo, who was recently in the spotlight over threats posed by goons, maintained that the government does not and will not tolerate a culture of violence within the political space.

While warning that stern action will be taken against perpetrators going forward, the PS reiterated that every individual must be allowed to express themselves freely, without intimidation, threats, or scaremongering.

Omollo assured that the government will not condone any form of hooliganism and that, where such cases arise, they must be followed up through the appropriate legal and investigative processes.