A group of 94 residents of Gatsibo District have accused a Kigali-based lawyer of betraying their interests in a property compensation case.

The group claims Elias Mbonyimpaye had offered to represent them in a case of compensation for property that was destroyed in the process of turning Rwagitima Valley into Ntende marshland for rice growing.

But the residents were shocked on learning that the lawyer had disappeared with their court fees without pursuing the case.

The residents, under Belancila Banyangiriki Group, are from Gihuta and Matunguru cells in Rugarama Sector.

According to 2011 documents, copies of which The New Times has seen, the group contracted Mbonyimpaye as their counsel in seeking compensation for individual pieces of land, now under COPRORIZ Ntende, a rice grower’s cooperative.

In the same year, the lawyer was given Rwf376,000 in court fees, Rwf390,000 in legal charges and Rwf130,000 for filing the case, totaling Rwf896,000.

Belancila Banyangiriki, the representative of the group, alleges that Mbonyimpaye has rarely been seen since receiving the money.

"He later started ignoring our calls, which prompted us to storm his office in Kigali. He told us that the case was in the Intermediate Court of Nyagatare and that court would begin hearing soon. That was in 2013. When we asked for court summons, he told us to wait until the set time,” Banyangiriki told The New Times.

"We went to his office again but did not find him. We decided to go to Nyagatare Intermediary Court for inquiry about our case but we were told no such a case was filed there.”

In 2013, the group wrote to the Rwanda Bar Association to help them recover their money from Mbonyimpaye.

"He promised he would give us our court fees but did not until 2014 when the fees were raised. We want him to refund our money at the current rate because we paid another lawyer for the same case,” said the group.

When contacted, Mbonyimpaye acknowledged that he had pulled out of the case after four of the complainants failed to raise the required court fees.

"They gave me Rwf376,000 and that’s what I will return. Why should I give them more than they gave me?” said Mbonyimpaye.

By the time the group paid Mbonyimpaye, court fees were at Rwf4,000.

The fees at Nyagatare Intimidate Court now stand at Rwf50,000 for a single case. It means the group seeks Rwf4.7 million.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw