Rwandese Investor Desire Muhinyuza has now made an application before the magistrate’s court seeking to get access to Sh 400 M that had been frozen after high court ruled that the money belonged to him.
This comes a day after Justice Alfred Mabeya handed him back his company from Kenyan shrewd businessman Kirima Koome who had forcefully taken control of it without valid reasons.
Judge Mabeya ruled that the Sh 400 M in the accounts of Stayonline Ltd belonged to merchants who had entered into contract with Desire who is the real beneficial owner of the company.
However, Desire could not immediately access the funds since they had been frozen by the lower court in the case where Koome has been charged with swindling Desire over Sh 10 million of the company money.
In an application through lawyer Danstan Omari, Desire had asked the court to unfreeze the funds to enable the company resume operations as they had been halted due to the dispute ownership which has since been determined.
“This Honourable Court be pleased to review its orders of preservation and consequently unfreeze and allow unfettered withdrawal and/or credit and debiting transactions and payments from Kenya Shillings Account), US Dollar account and the Euro Account all in the name of Stay Online Limited Kenya all held at United Bank of Africa,” reads court papers.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Dolphine Alego, Omari told court that they had filed the application after the high court judgement and asked the court to unfreeze the accounts.
State Counsels Dorcas Rugut and James Gachoka said the DPP would not be opposing the application by Desire and Stayonline to unfreeze the accounts.
The money had been preserved as exhibits in the criminal case before Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi.
Magistrate Alego directed Omari and the DPP to file a consent since they were not opposed to the application and file it in court on Friday for adoption.