Why Tuju's property sale failed to attract bidders

The planned auction of former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju's Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary property in Karen, Nairobi, failed to take off on Tuesday after no qualified bidder showed up. The auction had been scheduled for 11 am, but more than an hour later it aborted after no prospective buyer had presented the required deposit to qualify as a bidder.

Tuju, who arrived to witness the sale with his team, sought confirmation from Garam Auctioneers on whether the auction had officially been called off. A representative of the auctioneer company said the process had aborted because none of the people who attended qualified as bidders, as bidders are required to present a deposit to show seriousness. Under Auctioneers Rules, an auction of immovable property cannot simply resume later if interrupted; it requires a fresh public advertisement and a new 14-day waiting period.

The dispute dates back to a Sh1.2 billion loan the East Africa Development Bank (EADB) gave Tuju's Dari Limited in April 2015 to fund a commercial property project in Karen, secured against Entim Sidai, Tamarind Karen and Dari Business Park. After payments fell behind, a London court ruled against the firms in 2019, and the debt has since grown to about Sh4.5 billion with interest and penalties. EADB sold Dari Business Park at auction in October 2024 for Sh450 million.

Tuju said the matter of the sale is currently the subject of litigation at the Auctioneer's Tribunal and the High Court, naming several pending cases including a Supreme Court case between Dari Limited and EADB. He said the parties were already in court over an alleged 2024 auction involving one of his properties, and challenged the valuation used in the earlier auction, claiming it was based on a 2015 valuation report. He said the dispute remained before the court and that he attended the latest auction to establish what would happen to the property.