KES400M Awarded: Court Supports Rwandese National’s Claim
The court has adopted a consent order by the DPP to release Sh 400M to Desire Muhinyuza, a Rwandese national declared by the high court to be the beneficial owner of Stay Online Limited.
In reading the ruling virtually, Milimani principal magistrate Dolphina Alego noted that the high court had dealt with the matter, and the judgment was delivered, so the lower court cannot add anything beyond that.
Kirimi had been charged in a criminal matter where he was accused of conspiracy to defraud Stay Online Limited (SOL) Sh 400M and stealing by an agent.
Muhinyuza had appointed Koome on April 1, 2023, to register SOL on his behalf while he (Muhinyuza) regularized his immigration status there.
The DCI officers obtained the freeze orders in October 2023 after receiving a complaint from Mr. Muhinyuza that Mr. Koome had defrauded him and had converted the company’s money into personal use.
On Wednesday, the high court declared Muhinyuza, the company’s beneficial owner, but Kenyan trader Kirimi Koome defrauded him.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Alfred Mabeya noted that the funds belonged to the merchant. The matter needed to be resolved quickly because the money was dormant, which could negatively affect the company’s operation.
The matter was transferred to the Milimani principal magistrate, Dolphina Alego, since the trial magistrate, Benmark Ekhumbi, who gave orders to freeze the accounts, was on leave and could not preside over them.
With regards, Ms Alego presided on the ruling of the accounts to be unfrozen,
“The court has considered the high court’s decision and the consent of both the DPP and defense lawyer Dunstan Omari that was filed and signed to that effect. I directed the accounts to be unfrozen, and the matter closed closed,” said the magistrate.
Following the intervention by the DPP, Mr. Muhinyuza will now assume total control and management of Stay Online Limited (SOL) Kenya, which Mr. Kirimi Koome had defrauded him of.
Appearing before Milimani senior principal magistrate Dolpina Alego virtually on Thursday, two state prosecutors, James Gachoka and Dorcas Rugut, disclosed,
“The DPP is not opposing the unfreezing of SOL Bank accounts held at UBA Bank Nairobi with USD 2.6m (KSh400m) and releasing the same to Muhinyuza.”
Following the prosecution’s consent, Ms. Alego ordered the DPP and defense lawyer Dunstan Omari to file a signed consent to that effect, and “she will adopt it as the court order.”
In compliance with the judge’s order, the registrar of companies has since transferred all the SOL shares held by Mr. Kirimi to Mr. Ambrose Wamari Obara, who has been appointed a director and a shareholder by Mr. Muhinyuza.
The company has a nominal share capital of 5,000,000 with 50,000 ordinary shares worth Sh100.
The DCI officers obtained the freeze orders in October 2023 after receiving a complaint from Mr. Muhinyuza that Mr. Koome had defrauded him and had converted the company’s money into personal use.
During a virtual hearing on Thursday, Ms. Rugut, Mr. Gachoka, and defense lawyer Dunstan Omari told the magistrate they had agreed to settle the issue of the frozen money amicably.
Mr. Omari told the magistrate that Justice Mabeya restored the company to Muhinyuza and, therefore
“There is no threat to the merchants’ money which the police detained to safeguard it,” said Omari.
He further told the magistrate that SOL is an online business company where merchants sell goods on this platform.
Ms. Alego heard the fraud case against Mr. Koome is pending, but the high court has intervened to salvage the merchants’ money by vesting the company back to Muhinyuza.
Ms. Alego directed the case to be heard today to settle the issue of the frozen funds, where the court ruled the money to be released to Muhinyuza as the beneficial owner of Stay Online Limited.
