An official at the East African Development Bank has admitted that the bank has not disbursed part of the loan taken by former cabinet secretary Raphael Tuju.
Mr David Odongo told Justice Alfred Mabia that the loan deal with Mr Tojo was in two tranches, with $9.1 million to buy a property in Karen and a second tranche of Sh294 million to build villas that Mr Tojo could sell to enable him to repay the loan.
Mr Odongo said the second tranche of the loan was never disbursed, adding that he gave the same information to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), when he was summoned to the DCI headquarters last year.
Mr Odongo was being questioned over a statement he made to the Director of Criminal Investigations about the loan.
According to Mr. Tuju, the statement Mr. Odongo made to the CID contradicts what the East African Development Bank has been stating all along, and supports his case on the nature of the $9.3 million loan, as well as the history of his dealings with the lender.
Mr. Togo said Mr. Odongo confirmed that the project as stipulated in the agreement consists of two phases, namely the acquisition of the Tree Lane property as well as the construction and sale of the housing units, to repay the loan given to him.
The statement submitted to the Investment Department confirmed that the project was viable, as it was located on a 20-acre plot of land and Mr. Togo was to develop approximately 20 villas, rehabilitate existing structures and that the development of the villas was the main component of the project, to enable Dari Limited (Togo Company) to repay the loan.
When asked how the statement bearing his name was prepared, Odongo said the bank’s lawyers had prepared it and asked him to add his signature.
“I trusted the guidance and opinion of the bank’s advisors, and signed the statements in good faith,” he said.
Mr Odongo also told the court that he had been informed of the project and had presented it to the council for approval.
The official confirmed yesterday that a court ruling in the United Kingdom had been issued in favour of the lender and the decision had been registered with the Supreme Court.
In the dispute, Mr. Tojo said the lender provided $9.1 million to purchase the property, but the balance, which was earmarked for developing high-end residential units for sale, was never disbursed.
The loans were for the construction of Sh100 million double-storey flat-roofed houses on a 20-acre forested land called Entim Sidai and the purchase of a 94-year-old house built by Scottish missionary Dr Albert Patterson, which now operates as a high-end restaurant.
But according to the bank, the balance was never disbursed because Togo-Dari Limited breached the agreement by failing to pay the sum of $11,462,757 as of November 10, 2017.
The British judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court in February 2020, but Darry Limited moved to the Court of Appeal and took the matter to the Supreme Court, where it questioned the upholding of the English judgment.
The case was adjourned to July 31 for further hearing.