By Team
Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o has said former Cabinet Minister Raphael Tuju does not deserve to be treated as a fugitive or a criminal and to be exposed to public humiliation and embarrassment.
Nyong’o said Raphael Tuju is a former senior public servant who has served this country at the highest levels of leadership and deserves respect.
“Whatever the merits of the commercial dispute at hand, nothing justifies actions that subject him to humiliation or unnecessary public embarrassment,” he said in a press statement.
Nyong’o condemned the use of the police to evict Tuju from his premises without a court order.
“The use of uniformed police officers, whose primary duty is to maintain law and order, to facilitate actions that seemingly bypass established legal processes is troubling.
Debt recovery and commercial disputes are clearly addressed within the framework of civil law, and such matters ought to be handled transparently and through lawful procedures.
The resort to nocturnal operations and coercive displays of state power in matters of a civil nature invites legitimate public concern. One must ask: under what legal provision are such actions justified?”he said.
Nyong’o also raised concern over the recent events surrounding the handling of Tuju’s loan dispute, saying the commercial affairs raise serious questions about the conduct of institutions entrusted with upholding the rule of law in the country.
“Kenya has travelled a long and painful road to build a democratic society grounded in the protection of civil liberties and the rights of its citizens.
That journey demanded immense sacrifice, including the loss of lives.
It is therefore deeply concerning when institutions mandated to safeguard those rights appear to act in ways that undermine the very principles they were created to defend,”he said.
Nyong’o said those entrusted with public authority must exercise it with restraint, legality, and respect for due process.
“The credibility of our institutions—and indeed our national reputation—rests on their ability to act within the law and with decorum. Investor confidence, public trust, and the broader ambition of positioning Kenya among the world’s leading economies cannot flourish where arbitrariness and excess appear to prevail,” he said.
He said for Kenya to achieve the transformation envisioned by its leadership, then the institutions responsible for protecting justice and economic stability must inspire confidence rather than erode it.
“Ultimately, every Kenyan—regardless of status, creed, or political inclination—deserves fair and just treatment under the law. Otherwise, the solemn pledge contained in our national anthem, ‘Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi,’ risks becoming not a guiding national principle, but merely words we recite,” he said.
Siaya Governor James Orengo also told Tuju not to give up but to continue fighting for constitutional rights and those of his family.
“Raphael Tuju is a wonderful leader and strategist. A good man doing good. He is a victim of ferocious capitalism and a bloody cabal in a kleptocratic state. When the judiciary cannot protect the weak against the mighty, justice becomes a distant and remote mirage. Tuju, let me say this: the struggle continues,” he wrote on his social media handles.
Kenyans from all walks of life and political leaders have been in solidarity with Tuju after the police locked him out of his disputed business premises.
ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, Vice National Chairman Dr Otiende Amolo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and businessman Jimmy Wanjigi were among the leaders who visited the premises to stand with Tuju in solidarity.
Wanga was captured making frantic telephone calls in a bid to break the stalemate while Otiende called for the removal of the police officers from the facility.
“It is legally wrong to block Tuju from accessing his premises when you do not have court papers that guarantee you such liberty. Get the court documents first and before that Tuju should be allowed to access his facility,” he said.
Homa Bay MP George Opondo Kaluma wrote on his X handle, “This is the only property/hotel business owned by a Luo in Nairobi.
We will defend it to the last drop of our blood, to our last generation.
Whoever thinks he can take this property should prepare to kill all Luos before that—let no one try eviction there again.”
Tuju on Saturday, in a meeting with his family and relatives, showed them his burial place should he be killed over the bid to take over his multi-billion premises in Nairobi’s upmarket Karen.
Tuju told the family the specific place he would wish to be buried should he be killed over his move to protect his property.
“Today, I told and showed my family and relatives the specific place I would wish to be buried. I am not ready to be killed over my property.
I will not sit and watch my property taken away.
Let them kill me first. I will be happy that I was killed protecting the family property and my grandchildren will know where and how their grandfather died,” he said.
On Saturday at dawn, over 100 police officers stormed Tuju’s premises in what Tuju termed continuous intimidation.
He said the police officers, some with unmarked police vehicles, stormed the facility and denied everyone entry to the facility.
“I do not know why the police have decided to occupy my facility. They do not even have court orders. I will not be cowed,” he said.
Tuju has declared that only over his dead body will he lose his property after an auctioneer went to claim the facility.
He said the agents of a gentleman by the name Chebet brought a fellow called Mr. Kiprop to take over the property.
“They had no court order and court papers. They just think they can come and intimidate me so that they can come and take over my property.
It is very simple what they have to do. They have to shoot me to get a big burial for me in Rarieda Constituency. I am sure my constituents will come to mourn. After I have been put into the grave, then they can come and take the property through such kind of impunity.
I am not going to take this kind of intimidation. It is very simple. They kill me first. I am not taking that kind of intimidation,” he said.
Tuju has been overwhelmed with support and goodwill from Kenyans and the international community over the attempted takeover of his premises by an auctioneer over a long-running commercial debt court battle.
“I am overwhelmed by the messages of support and goodwill from friends, relatives, many Kenyans not to mention members of the international community. I am indeed humbled and grateful for your prayers and words of encouragement,” he said.
Similarly, the High Court also granted Tuju the authority to appeal the Monday ruling by Judge Josephine Mongare that the matter was already settled, opening the door for recovery of the prime assets tied to a long-running debt.
