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Raphael Tuju, who previously served as the secretary general of the Jubilee Party, now criticizes the Judiciary for attempting to silence him in a major property dispute involving billions of shillings.
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The judiciary charged Tuju with violating the sub judice rule by pursuing the case through the press.
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Nevertheless, Tuju in his strongly worded letter sent also to Chief Justice Martha Koome, stated that the Judiciary’s statement was intended to keep the issue hidden from the public.
Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju has addressed a statement released by the Judiciary and the Eastern Africa Development Bank, following their accusation that he made statements to the public regarding issues currently before the courts.
In a brief statement, Tuju redirected the criticism towards the Supreme Court judges, alleging that they established a precedent by addressing issues currently pending in court.
“If I am to be held accountable for violating the rule of sub judice, I would be happy to share the dock with the Supreme Court judges who, in fact, violated the sub judice rules in the first place. As for myself, I have remained silent since filing the case against the SCOK judges at the JSC last April. It was only after these judges publicly commented on the matter that I exercised my right to respond,” he stated.
He criticized the judicial system for not addressing the conduct of two Supreme Court justices who allegedly first brought these issues into the spotlight through their courtroom activities and public talks in Meru and various other places, events that received extensive media coverage.
Tuju similarly placed both the Judiciary and the bank under scrutiny for purportedly attempting to prevent the media from covering the matter.
I don’t believe you’ll manage to silence the press on issues that have already reached the courts. Don’t even consider trying to scare me. Since 2019, EADB has received positive coverage from the media. The organization hired an expensive public relations firm based in Nairobi, spending considerable amounts of taxpayers’ money to promote their viewpoint consistently, frequently securing prominent placement for these stories.
What has changed now is that they have started complaining. Being a law-abiding citizen of Kenya, I must follow the law,” he stated.
Tuju is anticipated to appear at the Milimani Law Courts on Friday morning, March 28, for the hearing of a case related to petitions contesting the dismissal of Supreme Court judges.
Today, the Judiciary, via Paul Ndemo, released a statement condemning Tuju for reportedly discussing the details of a case he is involved in concerning a legal disagreement about his KSh 5 billion property in Karen following a failed loan transaction.
“The Judiciary has acknowledged recent media interviews and public comments from Hon. Raphael Tuju concerning the legal disputes involving Dari Limited. The case between Dari Limited and the East African Development Bank (EADB) has faced litigation across various courts and regions,” as stated by the Judiciary release.
Earlier, Tuju claimed that high-ranking judicial authorities worked together with an EADB official to falsely implicate him in the case.
He revealed that he had lodged complaints with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against five Supreme Court judges who had backed Okwara’s affidavits, subsequently exposed as fake. The JSC is scheduled to examine these accusations made against the judges.
In July 2020, Tuju spent KSh 50 million to protect his prized Karen property from being sold off at an auction by EADB.
The lender took legal action in a London courtroom and secured rulings to seize the assets after Tuju and his firm, Dari Limited, were deemed to be in default of a loan agreement.
Despite this, the previous CS challenged the decision in a Kenyan courtroom and managed to secure an injunction stopping the lender and designated receivers from seizing the asset.