The Anti-Corruption Court Judge Esther Maina on Thursday, April 27, barred Felicien Kabuga, a suspect in the Rwandan genocide case, from accessing his multimillion villas in Kilimani.
In the ruling, Judge Maina affirmed orders issued by Justice Muga Apondi 15 years ago to freeze the assets claiming that the Villas were acquired through proceeds of crime.
Kabuga’s son Nshimyumuremyi Donatien, who lives in Belgium, appealed the earlier ruling requesting access to the rent from the property which the court estimated to fetch Ksh84,000 every month.
“I have considered the orders issued by Justice Muga Apondi on the two applications. The matter went on appeal and the ruling by the Judge on the preliminary objection was sustained.
“I have considered the two applications and I would agree with Justice Muga Apondi. I see no reason to set aside the ruling,” Justice Maina stated in the ruling.
Kabuga’s wife Josephine Mukazitoni had opposed the decision of the court to freeze the assets in Kenya arguing that the property was co-owned and she was entitled to it as well.
Her case, filed before the Anti-Corruption Court, argued that the government had no proof that the property was acquired through proceeds of crime.
At the time, her husband was a fugitive, a fact that Josephine stated did not have a correlation with the assets. She claimed that there was no proof that Kabuga used the rent collected from the house to evade arrest.
