Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju's children have found themselves in a precarious situation, after they were handed a demand notice on February 25.
According to a report by Business Daily, the three - Mano, Alma and Yma Tuju, were targeted by the bank as it seeks to recover the loan on grounds that it had guaranteed their father when he inked the finance deal.
“You shall pay EADB as payment of the principal and interest payable as at 20th December pursuant to a guarantee and indemnity dates 10th April 2015.
“Further take notice that failure to pay the afore-stated amount shall result in EADB filing for bankruptcy against your estate," reads a section of the demand notice sent to Mano Tuju and attached in court documents.
The children's role as guarantors in the botched loan deal provided EADB's lawyer, Fred Ojiambo, the leeway to rope them into the suit in which the lender is looking to take over the CS's 20-acre prime property located in Karen, Nairobi, and the high-end hotel (Dari Restaurant), owned and operated by the Tujus.
On their part, the children have come back swinging and accused the bank of unfair treatment, further stating that the principal debtor -Dari Limited, was able to and had shown reasonable prospects of repaying the debt.
The children further claimed that the demand notice is incompetent and does not disclose the fact that the lender was holding security against the loan.
“The failure on the part of the creditor to comply with the law and to acknowledge the full extent of the securities held is selective disinformation and is willfully designed to mislead the court and ultimately to rob the debtor of their constitutional right to property,” Mano Tuju stated in his rebuttal.
The latest blow for Tuju - who is currently receiving specialized treatment at a London hospital following his grisly road accident on February 12, comes just a day after his company, Dari Limited, had its accounts frozen by the High Court.
The Cabinet Secretary's property under his company could be put up for the sale by the bank, the latest demand notice further revealed.
"The bank has Kenya’s court backing to enforce a UK judgment to seize Mr Tuju’s property under Dari Limited for sale," reads an excerpt of the letter.
However, Tuju's plan to develop the 12 luxury homes worth an estimated Ksh1.2 billion fell behind schedule, resulting in default and asset seizures move by the lender.
The CS's latest woes come at a time when legislators are preparing to review a Bill that seeks to compel creditors to seize assets of defaulting borrowers before touching a guarantor’s property after President Uhuru Kenyatta refused to assent to it.
In his explanation, Uhuru had argued that the Bill would prejudice the financial sector if enacted into law in its current form.
