A case in which CS Raphael Tuju is seeking the recusal of a judge in his Sh1.5 billion debt row with a bank will be heard on Tuesday next week.
The case was to proceed on Friday.
Senior counsel Paul Muite and Paul Nyamodi representing Tuju said, however, the court should take its time to review the application, then give a tentative hearing date.
Lawyer Fred Ojiambo for the East African Development Bank called the application for recusal a ploy to delay the main debt case.
He wanted the matter to proceed, however, judge Grace Nzioka, after considering both sides, directed the application be heard orally on Tuesday next week.
Tuju wants the judge to disqualify herself on grounds she has shown bias in favour of the East African Development Bank, an act he said was damaging his company Dari Limited.
The CS without portfolio says he will not get a fair hearing due to the manner in which justice Nzioka has so far conducted the matter.
"The informal manner in which the judge has conducted this matter shows she is biased against me and the directors of Dari. This will deny us a fair trial," Tuju said.
He wants the file remitted to the presiding judge of the commercial division at the Milimani law courts for assignment to another judge.
The bank initially filed the case before a London court seeking to compel Dari Limited to offset the Sh1.5 billion loan. The court allowed the regional bank to recover the money from Tuju’s real estate company.
Tuju is fighting to have the High Court set aside the ruling made in London.
According to court documents, the loan was meant for construction of Sh100 million two-storey bungalows. It also was meant for the purchase of a nine-year-old bungalow built by a Scottish missionary, Dr Albert Patterson. The bungalow currently operates as a high-end restaurant.
(Edited by V. Graham)
