The buyer of former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju’s Karen property has defended the purchase, insisting it was acquired lawfully through a public auction conducted by the East African Development Bank (EADB) in October 2024.

Ultra Eureka Limited has also disclosed that after acquiring the land in February 2025, it charged the property’s title to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) the following month to secure a $2.5 million (Sh324 million) loan facility.

The company told the High Court that it legally bought the prime Nairobi property for Sh450 million after the EADB exercised its statutory power of sale over land previously owned by companies associated with Mr Tuju.

In a replying affidavit, the firm’s director, Jackson Kiplimo Chebett, said the transaction followed a competitive public auction and that the buyer fully paid the agreed purchase price.

He said his company is now the landlord of the business premises, having taken over the property last week, and has already written to tenants informing them of the change in ownership.

“The tenth defendant (Ultra Eureka Limited) participated in the public auction and its bid of Sh450 million was accepted by the second defendant (the bank),” Mr Chebett states in court papers in response to Mr Tuju’s application seeking to stop the transfer of the Karen property and nullify the auction sale.

Mr Chebett said that after payment, the EADB discharged the title document and his company was subsequently registered as the proprietor of the leasehold interest in February 2025, following the October 2024 auction.

Records attached to the affidavit show the land measures 6.8 acres and is held under a 99-year lease from September 1, 2010, when Mr Tuju acquired it alongside the African Wildlife Foundation as tenants in common. Mr Tuju was later registered as the sole owner in December 2014.

Prime assets

The land hosts three business properties: Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary, Tamarind Karen and Dari Business Park.

These assets had been used by Mr Tuju as collateral for a $9.3 million loan facility advanced to Dari Limited in April 2015 by the East African Development Bank. They were auctioned following a default.

Court documents show the land had been registered in Mr Tuju’s name and was among assets charged to the EADB to secure the multi-million dollar loan advanced to Dari Limited.

The ongoing legal dispute stems from a long-running debt recovery battle between Mr Tuju’s Dari Limited and the regional lender over the $9.3 million (Sh1.2 billion) loan.

According to the buyer, the property was advertised in newspapers before being sold by Garam Investments Auctioneers on October 1, 2024, after the borrower defaulted.

Mr Chebett said Ultra Eureka Limited paid the Sh450 million purchase price in full and submitted transfer documents to the Chief Land Registrar for registration.

“The 10th defendant paid the purchase price in full and the second defendant issued it with the transfer documents to enable registration,” he said in the affidavit.

The company told the court that the land has since been transferred and registered in its name, making it the lawful owner of the leasehold interest.

Mr Chebett said the former owner and associated companies no longer hold any legal interest in the property following the auction and registration.

“The plaintiffs’ rights to the subject property have since been extinguished as the second plaintiff is no longer the registered owner,” he told the court.

Clash claims

He also alleged that attempts by former occupants to reclaim the land escalated into a confrontation after the court lifted earlier injunction orders.

According to the affidavit, more than 50 men allegedly forced their way into the property and assaulted security guards deployed to protect the premises.

“The said men roughed and beat up the security guards and in the process seriously injured a number of the guards,” Mr Chebett claimed.

Police were later called to restore order and directed the parties to present ownership documents for verification, the buyer said.

The company further told the court it had written to tenants occupying the premises, informing them of the change in ownership and directing that rent be paid to the new landlord.

The High Court recently struck out Mr Tuju’s suit and discharged interim orders that had temporarily restrained the sale, clearing the way for the buyer to assert ownership.

However, Mr Tuju has since escalated the dispute to the Court of Appeal, where the case is pending hearing.

→ jwangui@ke.nationmedia.com

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