‘Bannyahe’ residents take legal action against Government over unfair expropriation

By The Inspirer

The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court in Kigali on February 25, 2021 adjourned to May 6 the case in which three residents of a slum nicknamed “Bannyahe” in Gasabo District’s Nyarutarama Cell are accusing the Government of illegal expropriation.

The slum is made up of Kangondo I, Kangondo II and Kibiraro I villages in Nyarutarama Cell, Remera Sector, from where over 1,000 families have to be relocated to Busanza housing estate in Kicukiro district.

The residents argued that they look to the judiciary for justice, requesting that their case be expedited.

The plaintiffs who had already lodged cases against the Government represented by the City of Kigali, are David Munyeshuri, Jean de Dieu Shikama, and Emmanuel Sahinkuye.

Among their requests, they want the court to grant them right to their property so that they are not evacuated from it or right compensation for their property if fair expropriation is to be achieved.

They also seek a compensation of 5 percent of fair compensation that had to be paid as it is provided for by the Rwandan expropriation law of 2015; as well as fine for being dragged into court cases.

The court said that it would be better if the similar expropriation cases be tried together on the above-mentioned date.

The above-mentioned slum is being cleared for the construction of mixed-use commercial complexes to be developed by a real estate company under a project dubbed Savannah Creek.

Meanwhile, some of the affected residents accepted to be relocated to new estate as compensation.

The residents said that the exploration to pave the way for public interest projects should be done in such a way that it does not infringe on the rights of the property owners.

Meanwhile, before the due time for the trial, the City of Kigali   requested the Court to postpone the case, saying that its lawyer is ill [Me Safari Vianney], was in isolation after one of his law firm members had contracted Covid-19 the City of Kigali is the respondent in the case.

The claimants wondered whether the judge will be waiting for any affected person to lodge their case so that the cases are tried together.

Jean de Dieu Shikama, one of the plaintiffs claimed that such is the tactic by the City of Kigali to delay the case.

Initially, he indicated, over 500 residents had taken the legal action to the Gasabo Intermediate Court in 2018, but the City of Kigali challenged the case saying that the applicants’ interests were different.

The Gasabo Intermediate Court decided that the plaintiffs did not have common interests as they had not common property, he said, adding that it requested them to file cases separately (one by one).

“We wonder if the property [that was separately owned by different people] has become our common good,” Shikama said.

David Munyeshuri said that his case was tried on December 10, 2020, and the court was due to rule it on Thursday, February 25.

“The judge who had tried my case told me this morning, (Thursday 25) that I should be patient as my case was not going to be ruled because the President of the [Nyarugenge Intermediate] Court requested that my case and others should be merged to be tried on May 6,” he said.

He said that he does not understand why his case is being associated with others’, unless there is new evidence which might have been gotten before the judge takes a decision or delivers it.

His asset, he expressed, was valued at over Rwf10 million, expressing that the valuation was OK if he was given the money on time, but not now.

“Currently, the value of my property is more than that [estimated in 2018]. I do not oppose expropriation intended to enable the Government to implement public projects, but I want the right compensation for my property,” he said.

Shikama argued that those who accepted to move owned small property.

He said that the valuation made by Gasabo District about four years ago, estimated his property at Rwf54 million, but claimed that it was undervalued

“Currently, I need at least Rwf150 million for compensation for my property… If I don’t get right compensation, I will fight until the last minute,” he said.

Emmanuel Sahinkuye said that his property (house and plot) was valued at Rwf20 million, but argued that it is currently estimated at Rwf40 million, noting that the initial valuation was not inaccurate.

“We are being treated unfairly. We want justice,” he said.

According to the 2015 law relating to expropriation in the public interest any expropriator that retracts his/her project for expropriation in the public interest after the valuation of the property of the persons to be expropriated or fails to pay fair compensation within the period provided shall be bound to pay compensation of 5 percent of fair compensation that had to be paid to the person to be expropriated.