Officials named in Kinyinya land saga

The committee in Kinyinya sector, representing area residents affected in the expropriation scandal has forwarded a list of local officials in Gasabo District responsible for expropriation irregularities to Kigali City, The New Times has learnt. The list of six people seen by this newspaper has the former Mayor Claudine Nyinawagaga topping the list. It was forwarded last week, a few days after the ad hoc committee met with city officials to discuss how the two years saga can be put to an end. For years, Kinyinya residents have been at loggerheads with Gasabo district officials and developers following a botched expropriation exercise. The residents had their properties evaluated for expropriation by developers that included the Housing Bank of Rwanda and the Social Security Fund of Rwanda but only a handful were compensated, living majority hanging in balance. About 1028 families were evaluated to be compensated in April 2008 but only 127 were remunerated legally. Also on the list is Star Cod, a company that carried out the evaluation exercise whose officials were later arrested for inflating the compensation package. The list also includes the Executive Secretaries of Kinyinya and Murama cells Yonasi Shema and Theresa Mukangamije respectively who also happen to be on the list of those to be compensated. The two local leaders are among those that have received the money despite a payment plan that grouped them among those to be compensated last. The residents accuse City Mayor of turning a blind eye to their pleas having written to her since December last year to come to their rescue. The disgruntled residents are demanding to either be compensated for the loss on their properties especially houses they had demolished after they were promised to be paid in a period of less than four months or be expropriated as originally agreed. The 100 hectares of land in Murama cell were supposed to be jointly developed by the Housing Bank of Rwanda (HBR) and Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR) to a tune of Rwf 6.4bn. When contacted, the Director of Media and Communication in Kigali City, Bruno Rangira said that Kirabo had entrusted the now acting mayor of Gasabo, Willy Ndizeye to follow it up and get a solution soon. Ndizeye could however not be reached for a comment by press time. Ends

National

Officials named in Kinyinya land saga