Businessman Jean Nsabimana aka Dubai detained over Urukumbuzi fiasco

Yanditswe Apr, 20 2023 12:59 PM | 5,994 Views

The Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), has arrested Nsabimana Jean, the investor of Urukumbuzi village, and other officials who were in charge when these houses were built, including the former Mayor of Gasabo District, Stephen Rwamurangwa, while the investigation is ongoing.

It was in 2015, when the former Minister of Infrastructure, James Musoni, launched a project to build affordable houses, particularly for civil servants, which was to be paid for in the long term, and the government had to pay 30% of the cost of each house, which was between 20 and 30 million Rwandan francs. This construction project known as ‘Urukumbuzi village was placed in Kinyinya Sector, in Gasabo District.

Investor Nsabimana Jean known as Dubai was assigned to build this accommodation and after some families had settled in the constructed houses, it was found out that the buildings did not meet the standards.

The issue became a trend when a video taken by a resident of this village showed the collapse of one of these houses, which she said was caused by substandard materials.

"Look at how they constructed it for us, look at how this house is built, the upper one falls to the lower one." She continued pointing out that the houses were built with only soil without cement.

The Minister of Infrastructure Ernest Nsabimana also admitted that these houses were built without following the basic construction standards and with substandard materials.

When the President was closing the national civic education - Itorero Rushingwangerero recently in March 2023, he asked about this issue, saying that these houses were presented to people as houses ready to be settled in yet they were replicated and fell on people, hence ordering the people in charge to follow up on the matter in a possible short time.

After a subsequent inspection, they found out that 7 houses among the constructed ones which people were living in, had to be moved immediately because they should put their lives in danger. The owners of these houses say that they bought them with loan money and therefore there should be a way for them to avoid suffering losses.