The East African Development Bank (EADB) has issued a statement clarifying its seven-year dispute with Kenyan company Dari Limited, amid public commentary surrounding the auction of a property linked to Raphael Tuju.
In a statement dated March 16, 2026, EAD has distanced itself, stating that the ongoing rumors are false.
“The EADB distances itself from the ongoing public theatre of the borrower’s distortion of facts and disinformation and remains guided by the principles of the rule of law, its governance policies, and, more importantly, by the loan facility agreement entered between itself and the borrower. There must be finality of court matters,” the statement read.
EADB Loan to Dari Limited and Default
In the statement, EADB has revealed that Dari Limited borrowed a total of USD 9,197,084 from EADB under a loan facility agreement dated April 10, 2015.
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The agreement, jointly negotiated and agreed upon by both parties with legal representation, required Dari Limited’s shareholders and directors to pledge properties in Nairobi as security.
The loan was drawn on July 29, 2015, after the charges on the properties were duly registered in favor of the Bank. By the second quarter of 2016, Dari Limited had defaulted on the loan, prompting EADB to issue demand notices in November 2017, which were ignored.
EADB was then compelled to file a case in the High Court of Justice in England, United Kingdom, the forum and governing law specified in the loan agreement.
On June 19, 2019, the court awarded EADB USD 15,162,320.95, covering principal, interest, and penalties.
Kenyan courts later recognized the judgment, the High Court in Nairobi on February 13, 2020, and the Court of Appeal on April 20, 2023.
Dari Limited Property Auction
Following the legal rulings, EADB successfully auctioned the Ngong Road property pledged by Dari Limited as security on October 1, 2024.
“There were no court orders preventing the sale of the property at the auction,” the Bank stated.
The auction drew public attention because the property had links to Rafeal Tuju, prompting widespread commentary.
After the sale, Dari Limited filed a lawsuit challenging the property valuation and other aspects of the auction.
While an interim injunction was initially granted, it only applied to pledged property that had not yet been sold.
On March 9, 2026, the High Court in Nairobi delivered a substantive ruling, striking out the borrower’s suit and effectively vacating the interim orders.
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The Bank has emphasized that it has never received any credible or verifiable repayment offers from Dari Limited, despite public claims, and all actions, including the auction of the Ngong Road property linked to Raphael Tuju, were carried out in accordance with the loan facility agreement and applicable court orders.
“At no point, over the course of this seven-year-long dispute, has the EADB received any credible or verifiable repayment offer from the debtors as have been alleged. Consequently, under the terms of the Charge, the Bank successfully auctioned the Ngong Road property that had been pledged by Dari Limited as security, on the 1st of October 2024, after following all due processes and the highest bidder purchased the property” stated EADB.
Court Orders Eviction of Tuju’s Property in Karen
On March 9, 2026, the High Court of Kenya cleared the way for the auction of properties linked to former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju after dismissing a case seeking to block the forced sale in a long-running multi-billion-shilling loan dispute.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Josephine Wayua Mong’are, an application by Dari Limited and Tuju seeking to stop the auction of two Karen properties was struck out.
The court also lifted earlier interim orders that had temporarily stopped the auction, allowing the lender and appointed auctioneers to proceed with the recovery process.
The properties had been used as security for a $9.3 million loan facility advanced to Dari Limited in 2015 by the East African Development Bank (EADB) to finance property developments in Nairobi’s Karen suburb.
After the loan fell into default, the lender initiated recovery proceedings, with the debt growing through accumulated interest and legal costs.
When was the auction advertised? Who were the bidders