The Ministry of Justice has announced that the execution of court rulings will take place digitally effective Friday, July 2. The new development was announced in a statement released on Wednesday, June 30. The court rulings that are set to be shifted online include managing, leasing, auctioning, or taking over of properties in the event of client default. The process will be conducted through “cyamunara.gov.rw”, the electronic collateral auctioning system aimed at reducing the human element in the auctioning process. The platform also aims at tackling corruption and undervaluation in property auctioning. Among its main features, every auction will be monitored throughout the system and the property owner will have the right to participate in searching for the bidder with the highest value. Commenting on the platform, the Justice Minister and Attorney General, Johnston Busingye said that the move is just one of the steps of their digitalization journey. “It is a continuation of the digital journey that we, as the justice sector, have embraced, so as to make sure the population is conducting safe and secure deals,” he noted in an exclusive with The New Times. He adds that the ministry wants to make sure the dreams of the property owners in the auctioning processes come true: “The dream of the property owners is to make sure the deal is conducted in transparency and with the highest value, so we want to make this dream come true”. Busingye also stressed that the traditional method had been marred by malpractices and “tormented” the legal processes. The new system was also welcomed by the court bailiffs. Anastase Balinda, the Executive Secretary of Court Bailiffs’ Association, underscored the role of the digital platform in the fight against corruption and undervaluation. “It will reduce the physical contacts between the beneficiaries, hence wiping away the impacts of illegal commissioning agents who sometimes undervalue the properties among some of the malpractices,” he said. The ministerial order establishing electronic modalities regarding managing, leasing and auctioning of properties was gazetted on May 12, 2020 but auctioning went partially digital from August 2020.
