Legal practitioners in Rwanda say asset concealment is one of the complex aspects of divorce cases, as spouses use various tactics to shield wealth before or during proceedings.

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When couples get married in Rwanda, they choose a legally recognised matrimonial regime that governs how their property will be owned and managed. In theory, the framework should ensure fairness if the marriage ends.

In practice, however, divorce proceedings sometimes reveal a different reality with one spouse walking away with little or nothing, despite years of shared life during which substantial assets were acquired.

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According to the Judiciary’s 2024/2025 annual report, courts heard 2,674 divorce cases during the year, compared to 2,833 the previous year. While the number slightly declined, lawyers say disputes over hidden property and undisclosed income remain a challenge.

Common tricks used to hide assets

Beata Uwimabera, a lawyer and certified mediator, says the most common methods involve registering assets in third parties’ names.

"Spouses hide land, houses, vehicles, or heavy machinery under relatives or close friends,” she explains. "Others move money to third parties, operate undisclosed bank or mobile money accounts, locally or abroad, or deliberately undervalue businesses during divorce proceedings.”

She adds that some businesses suddenly begin reporting losses once divorce proceedings start.

‘Invented loans’

Uwimabera further noted that spouses may invent loans from friends or family to reduce apparent net worth, rent out property while hiding rental income, and fail to disclose pension or insurance benefits, or channel income through undisclosed mobile money accounts.

"Others hide livestock such as cows, pigs, or poultry, underreport seasonal farm income, or ask employers to defer salaries or pay them in cash,” she says. "Some military or police officers returning from UN missions do not declare mission allowances.”

Joelle Bonebana Kabagambe, another Kigali-based lawyer, echoes these concerns, adding that some spouses transfer property to relatives while retaining control, register assets in company names or nominees, create fictitious debts, conceal side businesses or rental income, or dispose of assets shortly before or after divorce proceedings begin.

Innocent Muramira, also a lawyer, points to another tactic where the spouse deliberately fails to complete ownership transfers after buying land or vehicles, making the assets difficult to trace or disclose.

Legal grey areas vs. illegal conduct

Uwimabera says mobile money and informal savings schemes such as ibimina fall into legal grey areas. While these services are lawful, Rwanda’s legal framework does not clearly regulate spousal disclosure or consent regarding funds managed through such platforms.

"Although people are legally allowed to deposit and borrow money through mobile money and microfinance institutions, the law has not yet clearly explained how spouses must inform each other and agree on their use in managing family assets,” she says.

She also highlights another legal gap: Rwanda’s labour laws do not require employees to disclose their salaries to their spouses.

"This creates room for abuse during divorce, as one spouse may withhold information about actual earnings,” Uwimabera explains. "That directly affects the fair determination of child support and asset division.”

Kabagambe distinguishes between grey areas and illegal practices. Grey areas include genuine sales of property before divorce, family-based ownership structures with lawful justification, and high personal expenditure without proof of fraud.

Illegal practices, she says, include forging or falsifying documents, giving false testimony before judicial organs, destroying or fabricating evidence, and using illegal means to obtain evidence.

How hidden assets are detected

Kabagambe says effective detection begins with mapping all potential assets, including land, vehicles, bank accounts, mobile money wallets, and businesses.

"Lawyers can request court-ordered disclosures and provisional measures, review bank, SACCO, and mobile money statements, examine land registry records and company ownership, and compare declared income with lifestyle indicators,” she explains.

Uwimabera added that immovable property can be traced through the National Land Authority, inspection of buildings and rental agreements, and testimony from neighbours or local leaders.

Useful evidence includes land titles, property tax receipts, photos, invoices for construction materials, and witness testimony from local authorities.

For bank accounts, mobile money, cooperatives, and ibimina, she says lawyers can request transaction histories from MTN or Airtel, seek cooperative membership records, and compare deposits against declared income.

Certified bank statements, MoMo logs, receipts, cooperative minutes, and testimony from bank agents or cooperative members are among the most persuasive forms of evidence.

Income from employment or business can be detected by requesting payroll records and income tax declarations from Rwanda Revenue Authority.

According to Muramira, asset detection remains difficult because courts rarely issue broad disclosure orders, leaving it largely to parties to produce evidence.