The City of Kigali has announced that it will demolish up to 28 substandard houses in a housing estate commonly known as Kwa Dubai, in Kinyinya Sector of Gasabo District and that “the investor has to compensate the victims of the shoddy work.” The Kinyinya-based estate owned by businessman Jean Nsabimana, alias Dubai, attracted a lot of negative public attention in 2023 when one of the reportedly poorly constructed houses collapsed. A court on February 16 ruled to re-open the hearing in the case involving Nsabimana, commonly known as ‘Dubai’, alongside co-defendants Stephen Rwamurangwa, Chretien Raymond Mberabahizi, Jeanne d’Arc Nyirabihogo, and Nkulikiyimfura Theopiste. ALSO READ: Kwa Dubai estate: Residents speak out on substandard houses A report by Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) indicated that building structures were not firm as per the concrete compressive strength tests done. For example, the strength of the houses’ columns and slabs were found to be below the minimum standard that is recommended. Engineers also noted that there was poor drainage at the estate. Poor plumbing, unsafe electrical installations, AND poor sewerage systems were also a problem. In addition to this, there was also poor quality of construction materials. The bricks were being washed away by the rain as cracks appeared in the walls of the houses. As part of an ongoing campaign to crack down on shoddy construction work, and pulling down illegally constructed houses, the City of Kigali said 28 substandard houses have to be demolished given that they became a haven for robbers after the relocation of landowners. “While 28 houses will be demolished in Kwa Dubai estate in Kinyinya sector as they are substandard, 12 houses, and two houses, will also be destroyed in Jabana and Gatsata sectors, respectively, because they were illegally constructed and could even endanger dwellers’ lives. The operation continues in other sectors,” said the City of Kigali Mayor, Samuel Dusengiyumva. He said the government will facilitate victims to sue the investor. ALSO READ: Why court ordered re-opening of hearing in case of businessman 'Dubai', former Gasabo district officials According to inspections carried out, he added, other houses to be destroyed in other sectors were illegally built while others were constructed on arable land. “Others were constructed contrary to what is on the construction permits. Local leaders who did not stop the illegal construction will also be punished accordingly,” he said. 3,000 construction permits issued every month The City of Kigali said efforts are being put into improving service delivery given that 3,000 construction permits are issued every month. ALSO READ: CoK vows to address delays in land transfer, construction permits Dusengiyumva said measures have also been taken to detect fake construction permits. ALSO READ: There are fake construction permits on the market, City of Kigali warns Over the past three years [2023, 2022, 2021], the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) received 64 cases of forged land titles and construction permits. RIB recorded 30 cases of fake construction permits involving 44 suspects and 34 cases of fake land titles involving 74 suspects across the country. In 2023, 20 cases were received, while 34 cases were received in 2021. The City of Kigali recorded many cases, accounting for 51.5 per cent of the cases, followed by Southern Province with 17.1 per cent of all cases countrywide.
