The Judiciary has moved to clarify issues surrounding the case involving Dari Limited and Raphael Tuju following public reactions to a ruling delivered on March 9, 2026.
In a statement released on March 18, the Judiciary explained that the matter relates to efforts by lenders to recover a long-standing debt by selling two properties owned by the plaintiffs.
According to the statement, the plaintiffs had gone to the High Court of Kenya seeking orders to stop the planned auction and transfer of the properties until the case is fully heard.
The court had first issued temporary orders to protect the properties. However, the defendants challenged both the court’s authority to hear the case and how the matter had been filed.
The Judiciary noted that the dispute has a long legal history. It pointed out that a 2019 ruling by the High Court of Justice in England and Wales required repayment of more than 15 million US dollars under a financing agreement. That decision was later recognised and enforced by the Kenyan High Court in 2020. It was also upheld by the Court of Appeal of Kenya in 2023, while the Supreme Court of Kenya declined to stop its enforcement.
The Judiciary further explained that similar attempts by the plaintiffs to secure injunctions had already been dismissed in 2024. Because of this, the court ruled that the latest application could not proceed since the issues had already been decided before. This is based on the legal principle of res judicata, which prevents courts from hearing the same matter more than once.
The court therefore struck out the amended case and removed the temporary orders that had blocked the sale of the properties. The Judiciary confirmed that the plaintiffs have now filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Judiciary spokesperson Paul Ndemo called for calm and urged the public and involved parties to allow the appeal process to continue without interference or public pressure that could affect the outcome.