- Former minister Raphael Tuju claimed that more than 50 police officers raided his Dari Business Park property in Karen, Nairobi, at about 3am
- Tuju said the officers arrived with at least seven vehicles, some of which were unmarked, while several were wearing police uniforms, while others were wearing masks.
- The former general secretary of the Jubilee Party claimed that the officers forced the workers from the restaurant inside the building before locking them out.
Former minister Raphael Tuju He has claimed that several police officers raided his Karen property overnight.
Source: UGC
Tuju said more than 50 officers raided the Dari area Business Park in the rich neighborhood of Karen in Nairobi at about 3 am on Saturday, March 14.
According to him, the officers arrived with at least seven vehicles, several unmarked, before entering the area and taking control of the area.
What did Tuju say about the police raid in his Karen area?
The former general secretary of the Jubilee Party claimed that some officers were wearing official police uniforms while others had their faces covered with masks.
Speaking shortly after the incident, Tuju said the officers refused to identify themselves or explain why they had come to the area.
“They are here with about seven cars. Some are wearing uniforms but others are wearing masks. Whenever I try to take pictures of them, they hide their faces, and some are wearing masks,” he said.
In a video recorded shortly after the raid, Tuju suggested that the officers may have been acting under orders from higher authorities.
He claimed that the officers told him that they were carrying out “orders from above,” but did not provide any documentation to support the operation.
“The latest information I got from some players is that the orders have come from so high that they are only doing their jobs, they are only obeying the orders. They have no intention of coming here to ambush me at 9 am, drive me out of my area and the gate will be closed,” Tuju said.
According to Tuju, the officers allegedly entered the area by force and ordered the employees working at the restaurant inside the area to leave immediately.
“They entered by force and pushed all the workers out of the area,” he said. “Right now, they are locked in the area,” the former minister added.
Tuju insisted that no court order or official papers were submitted to justify the operation, which he described as illegal.
“I will not leave this place; they should kill me first because they do not have a court order, it is not legal for them to come to my premises at this time and force me to leave. I am ready to die in this place. They say they are following orders from above but they have no court order, no documents, nothing,” he said.
What did Tuju say about the validity of the operation?
When he spoke about the incident, Tuju said other officers were still arriving at the scene while those who had already entered the area remained inside.
Tuju also used the time to reassure his family, saying he was defending a business that belonged to them, questioning the legitimacy of the operation.
“First of all, I would like to encourage my children, who I know will be watching this video, that I am only protecting my family business which belongs to my family. The police who have evicted us, along with my guards, do not have a court order, and even if they had a court order, the law does not allow them to come and evict me from my area at 3 in the morning. This is not a law, and if it is a law, it is the law of the jungle,” Tuju complained.
Source: Original
The former Cabinet minister further said that he was ready to stand firm despite the major events going on in the area.
Tuju stressed that if the authorities had valid documents, they should submit them through legal channels instead of carrying out what he called forceful evictions.
He also revealed that the dispute surrounding the area is expected to be dealt with in court soon.
“Meanwhile, we are in the Court of Appeal on Monday. We do not want to wait until we have a hearing, so we would like to prevent any decisions that may be made by the Court of Appeal,” Tuju said.
The early morning operation comes against the backdrop of a protracted legal battle involving Tuju’s Karen assets, which have become the focus of a multi-billion shilling debt dispute.
Did the hooligans invade Tuju’s property?
As previously reported, Tuju spoke after a group of suspected thugs forced their way into his Karen property on the night of March 11.
Tuju said more than 100 people, accompanied by a private security company, entered the Dari Business Park area, which owns the Tamarind Restaurant, allegedly wanting to evict him.
He said that the intruders caused chaos before officers from the Karen Police Station arrived to restore order.
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