Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju has raised concerns over what he perceives as a lack of fairness by five Supreme Court judges in handling his long-running legal battle with the East African Development Bank (EADB). Tuju now faces a decade-long wait before his case can be heard.
The dispute revolves around a 27-acre piece of land in Karen, which Tuju and EADB have been fighting over in court. According to Tuju, the judges, led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, recused themselves from the case, effectively halting proceedings until the youngest among them retires in 2036.
“Why did they recuse themselves? What precipitated their recusal?” Tuju questioned during an interview with Spice FM on Monday. “It means that I will never be heard until 2036 when the youngest of them retires and therefore I’ll be able to have a quorum. I have a right to be heard.”
Tuju suggested that his conflict with the judges may have been influenced by EADB’s claims that his defense team had stolen confidential documents from the bank’s Kampala offices. He denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the documents in question were shared with him by the bank during negotiations.
“They were given to me by the bank during our time of negotiation,” Tuju explained. “Because I was supposed to pay 10% for this project, I said I can because it was Ksh.90 million. I said that I needed assurance that you are going to disburse the rest of the loan when I pay the 10%. They said don’t worry, and here is the board minutes.”
Tuju further revealed that he was summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to respond to the allegations regarding the documents.
His grievances were officially documented in a letter to Chief Justice Koome last Friday, where he accused the judges of failing in their duty to uphold the rule of law, ensure fair trial proceedings, and protect the Constitution. The former CS maintains that the Supreme Court’s decision has denied him justice and prolonged his legal troubles unnecessarily.
