Loan defaulter cries foul over sale of her property

RUSIZI – A woman who defaulted a loan offered to her by a bank claims that the sale of her property which she had given as collateral is mired in irregularities including the alleged exchange of kickbacks. Immaculate Nyirambombere, 67, a resident of Muganza sector in Rusizi District got a loan of Rwf1million on September 30, 2006, from Bank Populaire in Bugarama, which she was supposed to repay not later than September, 30 2008. She however, failed to repay the money which forced the bank to sell the house in April this year. Talking to The New Times, Nyirambombere appealed to the government to help her regain ownership of her house which she claims was sold fraudulently. She accuses the bank’s branch manager, Anicet Muzeyi, of selling her property to Suzanne Nyirangirimana- without her consent, for Rwf1million. “What I can say is that there was total injustice in the sale of my property. How could they sell it without notifying me…I therefore call upon the government to intervene into this matter,” Nyirambombere said, adding that no single local leader was present during the sale of her property. She also alleges that Muzeyi and the bank’s loan recovery officer were given kickbacks of Rfw400, 000 by the person who bought the house for ‘sealing the deal.’ However, when contacted for a comment, Muzeyi said they auctioned the house after issuing a prior warning to Nyirambombere. “We did not auction her house without her knowledge as she claims. She intentionally refused to turn up on the date we had agreed upon for the auctioning and we sold it according to the rules and regulations that govern auctioning,” said Muzeyi. Nyirambombere who claims that currently she has nowhere to stay, disclosed however that she petitioned Nyakabuye Lower Instance Court contesting the bank’s decision-and hearing of the case was due. Muzeyi, confirmed that he received summons asking the bank management to appear in Nyakabuye Lower Instance Court on October 28. Ends