Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has opposed a fresh petition by former Cabinet minister and Jubilee Party Secretary-General, Raphael Tuju, seeking to block a regional lender from auctioning his three properties in Karen, Nairobi, over a Sh1.9 billion debt.

Mr Tuju, in his petition, claims the East African Development Bank (EADB) is relying on sections of the law that were declared unconstitutional by the High Court in 2025.

EADB is primarily owned by four member States of the East Africa Community – Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.

But in an objection filed in court, Attorney General argued that various courts had determined the matter and cannot be revisited.

Mr Tuju filed the petition last month, arguing that the EADB was relying on Sections 2(1) and (2) of the East African Development Bank Act to enforce an English court judgment and auction his properties, yet the provisions were declared unconstitutional.

Read: How Raphael Tuju’s EADB loan saga unravelled

The ex-minister’s properties caught in the debt row include Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary, Tamarind Karen, and Dari Business Park, assets used as collateral for a multi-million-dollar facility advanced to Dari Limited in 2015.

One of Mr Tuju’s properties, Dari Coffee and Garden Restaurant in Karen, was auctioned on October 1, 2024, for Sh450 million to Ultra Eureka Ltd – a company owned by Stabex International Ltd co-owner Jackson Kiplimo Chebett.

Mr Tuju submitted that the provisions unilaterally conferred on the Finance Cabinet Secretary, unchecked authority to charge and disburse public funds from the Consolidated Fund to EADB without parliamentary input or accountability.

However, the Attorney General maintained that the declaration of unconstitutionality of Sections 2(1) and (2) of the EADB Act relates strictly to financing of the bank by the Kenyan government and does not affect EADB’s lending powers, which are defined in its founding documents.

“Thus, this petition is a last-ditch attempt to manoeuvre the court’s jurisdiction in a manner incompatible with the rule of law, the sanctity of contractual obligations, and the imperative of justice, and is therefore an abuse of the court process,” the Attorney General said.

The State Law Office added that EADB obtained a judgment against Mr Tuju and Dari Ltd from the High Court of England and Wales on June 19, 2019, ordering them to pay $15,162,320.

Further, the High Court, in a recent ruling, affirmed that issues surrounding the 2015 loan agreement had already been determined by the courts and cannot be revisited.

The bank said the petition is time-barred and that the issues raised have already been determined by other courts.

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