Court to rule on Raphael Tuju’s plea deferral on Wednesday, March 25
By Zipporah Ngwatu, March 24, 2026A Nairobi court will deliver its ruling on a request by former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju to have his plea taking deferred until he recovers.
This is after Tuju’s legal team informed a Kibera Law Court that their client could not come to court because he had been taken ill and rushed to Karen Hospital for treatment.
The defence team, led by Senior Counsel Kalonzo Musyoka, has told the court that Tuju had to be transferred from Karen Police Station to Karen Hospital for treatment.
Appearing before Kibera Law Courts Chief Magistrate Stellar Atambo on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Tuju’s legal team informed the court that his earlier injuries were aggravated due to the injuries he got yesterday.
Further, Kalonzo informed the court that Tuju’s health deteriorated while at Karen Police Station, prompting them to have his doctor attend to him from the station.
Notably, Kalonzo accused the police of abducting Tuju by forcing him into a Subaru despite an earlier agreement to deliver him to Karen Police Station.
“Your Honour, the police tried to abduct Mr. Tuju, forcing him into a waiting Subaru and he was screaming saying, ‘Please, don’t harm me,’ and in the process, they seriously hurt him,” Kalonzo told the court.
They also argued that the court has no jurisdiction to charge the former CS who is currently hospitalised due to what they termed as “police brutality”.
However, State Counsel Victor Owiti told the court that the defence was misleading and inaccurate to say the said court has no jurisdiction, stating that a matter can proceed even without the suspect being present.
According to the charge sheet, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) wants to charge Tuju with giving false information to a person employed in public service contrary to section 129(a) of the Penal Code.
The State avers that on March 21, 2026, Tuju, at Entim Sidai Spa and Wellness Sanctuary in Karen, within Lang’ata Sub-County, informed the Karen Police Station Officer Commanding Station (OCS), Purity Kobia, that he was being traced by unknown assailants and later abducted.
The prosecution states that Tuju gave the said information while he knew that it was false and intended to be acted upon by OCS Kobia.
Magistrate Atambo has directed that she will issue a ruling on the matters raised on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at noon.