The High Court has allowed the planned auction of former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju’s Dari Business Park to proceed, while temporarily halting the auction of the Entim Sidai property pending the hearing and determination of an intended appeal.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, High Court Judge Moses Ado granted conditional stay orders protecting the Entim Sidai property from sale, but declined to stop the auction of Dari Business Park.

Justice Ado directed Tuju to deposit Sh50 million within 30 days as security for the due performance of the decree, warning that failure to comply within the stipulated period would automatically lead to the lapse of the stay orders.

“The order of stay is conditional upon the applicant depositing security for the due performance of the decree within thirty days from the date of this order, failing which the order of stay shall automatically lapse,” Justice Ado ruled.

The court was determining an application filed on March 11, 2026, seeking stay of execution and preservation of the disputed properties pending the hearing and determination of an intended appeal against an earlier ruling delivered on March 9.

In his determination, Justice Ado dismissed arguments by the respondents that the application was barred by the doctrine of res judicata, despite acknowledging that the dispute had previously been litigated before the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The judge held that the present application was limited to stay orders pending appeal and did not amount to relitigation of the substantive dispute.

Justice Ado also rejected objections that the application was incompetent for citing the wrong legal provisions, noting that procedural technicalities should not override substantive justice where no prejudice had been demonstrated.

While acknowledging that the application ought to have been anchored under Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the judge said the error was not fatal to the case.

On whether stay orders should issue, Justice Ado found that Tuju had satisfied the legal threshold for grant of a conditional stay, particularly on the risk of substantial loss if the Entim Sidai property was alienated before the appeal is heard.

The judge noted that the dispute involved land and that transfer or sale of the property during the pendency of the appeal could complicate proceedings and potentially render the appeal nugatory.

Justice Ado further observed that the application had been filed without unreasonable delay, having been lodged only two days after the impugned ruling.