B-Club owner gets bail

Kacyiru Primary Court yesterday provisionally released city entertainment mogul Barry Ndegenyingoma after the latter acquired two people to stand as his sureties. Commonly known as Ndengeye, the businessman is a major shareholder in B-Club discotheque, located in the upscale residential area of Nyarutarama. Court proceedings presided over by Yvette Ndeze Butoyi ruled that Ndengeyingoma be released provisionally but ordered him to report to prosecution every Tuesday of the week and not to leave the country. Ndengeye is accused by prosecution of two counts of breach of trust and issuing a bouncing cheque, both counts punishable under the Rwandan Penal Code. However, judge Butoyi ruled against his remand saying that there was no clear evidence pinning him on one of the crimes. “Court finds no clear evidence attesting to his issuing of a bounced cheque though it is clear it belonged to Ndengeyingoma. But it bears no stamp from the bank as a bounced cheque; it only has a rejected signature from a bank official,” she ruled. However, she concurred that there was substantial evidence attesting to his abuse of trust to his business partners. “Though he owns majority shares in the business (B-club) as compared to his partners, he should have agreed with them before considering selling the club’s sound system.” According to Christine Kayirebwa who represented the prosecution, the club’s sound system worth $8000(Rwf4.4m) was intercepted in Musanze in a truck en-route to the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Court finds it lawful to grant him bail since he has presented two sureties and there is nothing indicating that he will jeopardise investigations,” Butoyi ruled yesterday. Ndengeyingoma, risks 2 to 5 years in prison on conviction for breaching articles 424 and 435 of the Penal Code. In a related development, the verdict in the bail application by Kalisa Rugano, a local cultural icon who reportedly defiled a 16 year old girl, is scheduled to take place tomorrow at Gasabo Intermediate Court. Ends

National

B-Club owner gets bail