The High Court has rejected a bid by Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju to stop bankruptcy proceedings against him over a debt of Sh1.6 billion on grounds that the man has not proven he has the ability to pay the loan.
Mr. Tuju had argued that the Court of Appeal had stopped all the cases related to the amount owed to the East African Development Bank (EADB), including the suit by the bank to have him declared bankrupt.
EADB had also filed another application seeking to allow receiver managers to take over the politician’s property in Karen.
The bank also has a contempt of court case against him, for barring the managers from accessing the premises.
Justice Mary Kasango yesterday ruled that the Court of Appeal only suspended an order requiring Mr. Tuju to pay Sh1.6 billion, on condition that he deposits Sh50 million in an interest-earning account, within 30 days.
The judge said it was not clear whether the politician deposited the amount.
Mr. Tuju and his children -Mano Tuju, Alma Tuju, and Yma Tuju- had moved to court in January after the bank gave them only 21 days to pay Sh1.618 billion ($16,550,608) with interest, failure to which the bank threatened to file bankruptcy suit against them.
The loans were meant 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.
But the development of the 12 luxury homes worth Sh1.2 billion fell behind schedule, setting the stage for defaults and asset seizures.
