The businessman who owns the Kinyinya-based estate ‘Urukumbuzi’, commonly known as Kwa Dubai, Jean Nsabimana, is in custody, along with a few other former Gasabo District officials, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) Spokesperson, Thierry Murangira, has told The New Times. ALSO READ: Kwa Dubai estate: Residents speak out on substandard houses The suspects were arrested in connection with the construction of substandard housing units located in Kinyinya Sector, Gasabo District, which has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. ALSO READ: Kwa Dubai: Homeowners to be relocated to pave way for renovation “The investigation is ongoing and all the suspects have been apprehended in relation to crimes of abuse of their functions,” Murangira said. Apart from Nsabimana, other suspects in custody include the former Mayor of Gasabo District, Stephen Rwamulangwa; former Vice Mayor of Gasabo District, Raymond Chrétien Mberabahizi; former Director of One Stop Center at Gasabo District, Jeanne d’Arc Nyirabihogo; and Gasabo District engineer, Jean-Baptiste Bizimana. ALSO READ: Are affordable housing projects viable in Rwanda? The arrested officials were in office when the estate was constructed in 2015. During a press conference on April 17, City of Kigali Mayor, Pudence Rubingisa, noted that a new assessment showed that 54 of the 114 single-floor houses need repairs, while all the seven houses that have two floors (ground and upper floor) have structural issues that need more attention. ALSO READ: ‘Kwa Dubai’: 2017 report raised red flags about housing quality Rubingisa said that all residents occupying the storied houses were asked to temporarily vacate them so that they can be fixed. Those residing in the 54 single-floor houses continue staying in them as repairs are done. “We realised that there is a need to act faster,” Rubingisa said, noting that 18 families who were renting some of the apartments as well as five who had bought them permanently were requested to vacate them, temporarily. For about a month, the Kinyinya-based estate has been a hot topic after one of the houses partly collapsed.
