Win for Raphael Tuju as court allows him to question bank official in Karen property fight
Mr Raphael Tuju's Dari Restaurant grounds. Mr Tuju lost control of his company, Dari Limited, over a Sh2.22 billion owed to the East African Development Bank (EADB).
The High Court has allowed former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju to cross-examine an official of the East African Development Bank (EADB) regarding his disputed loan with the regional lender.
In a score for Mr Tuju, Justice Alfred Mabeya allowed the application to question Mr David Odongo over a statement he recorded with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in December last year, regarding the loan.
Justice Mabeya ruled that the lender would not be prejudiced if the order was granted and that it was proper for the truth to be established.
“It will be a travesty of justice if parties would be allowed to make statements on oath lightly. Court proceedings are solemn moments and a Court of law should not countenance falsehoods. If that were to be allowed, the administration of justice would be in jeopardy,” the judge said.
The judge, however, declined the application to also question the DCI officer who recorded the statement, saying he was not a party in the case.
Mr Tuju said he and his children were summoned by the DCI last year over the loan and recorded their statements.
The officials of the bank were also summoned and that he learnt that the statement made by Mr Odongo, contradicts what the EABD has been stating and also supports his case on the nature of the $9.3 million loans as well as the history of the engagement between the parties.
He said Mr Odongo confirmed that the project as envisaged in the agreement was two-phased in nature, which is the acquisition of the Tree Lane property as well as the construction and sale of the housing units, to repay the loan advanced to him.
The statement allegedly confirms that the project was viable, as it was sitting on a 20-acre parcel of land and Mr Tuju would have developed about 20 villas, rehabilitate the existing structures and that the development of the villas was the key component of the project, to enable Dari Limited to pay the loan.
He accuses the lender of providing $9.1 million for the acquisition of the property but the balance, which was meant for the development of high-end residential units for sale, was never disbursed. He said the sale of the units would have offset the loan.
The loans were for the construction of Sh100 million two-storey, flat-roofed bungalows sitting on a 20-acre forested land dubbed Entim Sidai and the purchase of a 94-year-old bungalow built by a Scottish missionary, Dr Albert Patterson, which currently operates as a high-end restaurant.
The bank defended itself saying the balance was never disbursed because Dari Ltd breached the agreement by failing to pay $11,462,757 as at November 10, 2017.
The UK judgment was adopted by the High Court in February 2020 but Dari Ltd moved to the Court of Appeal and escalated it to the Supreme Court, as he questioned the adoption of the English judgment.
