A local bank is targetting Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju’s for recovery of a Ksh 1.6 billion loan on grounds that they had guaranteed their father when he inked the financial deal.
This adds Tuju’s family’s woes with the Jubilee Secretary-General currently hospitalised in London after he was injured in a road accident while on his way to Kabarak to attend the February 12 burial of former President Daniel Arap Moi.
The East African Development Bank (EADB), which Tuju owes the money, has already sent a demand notice to Mano Tuju, Alma Tuju and Yma Tuju demanding the payment of Ksh 1.6 billion with interest. The bank has threatened to file a bankruptcy suit against the children in the event the father fails to pay the loan.
The demand notice comes soon after EADB froze the accounts of Tuju-owned Dari Limited owing to payment of the same loan.
The loan was meant for the construction of Ksh 100 million two-storey, flat-roofed bungalows sitting on a 20-acre forested land. Part of the loan was also meant to buy a 94-year-old Bungalow built by a Scottish missionary and currently operates as a high-end restaurant.
However, the development of the 12 luxury homes worth Ksh 1.2 billion has fallen behind schedule setting stage for defaults and asset seizures.
The Tujus have blamed EADB for the delayed construction of the Karen homes after the lender declined to provide additional millions for building the luxury houses in breach of the loan agreement.
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In fact, Mr Tuju himself had accused the bank of disbursing Sh932.7 million instead of the agreed Sh943.9 million, adding that the bank had reneged on the plan to offer Sh294 million for building the luxury homes for sale.
In reply, Tuju’s children have filed a pending petition before the High Court accusing the bank of being unjust to them. Yma, Mano and Alma have said that Dari Limited, the principal debtor, was able to and had reasonable prospects of repaying the debt.
Tuju’s children further argued that the demand notice is incompetent and does not disclose the fact that the EADB holds security against the loan. The Tujus also disclosed that a valuation conducted on the property in 2015 indicated it had a combined market value of Sh1.84 billion.
“The failure on the part of the creditor to comply with the law and to acknowledge the full extent of the securities held is selective disinformation and is willfully designed to mislead the court and ultimately to rob the debtor of their constitutional right to property,” said Mano, one of Tuju’s children.
On its part, the bank said that the liability from the defaulted loan had already been crystalised because the guarantee is not disputed. EADB further said that they do not hold any security over the assets of Dari Limited.
