The High Court will deliver it’s ruling on whether Rwandese businessman Desire Muhinyuza is the beneficial owner of Sh 400 million Stay Online Limited, Kenya on 27th December.
Justice Alfred Mabeya issued the directions after the conclusion of the hearing of the matter in which Kenyan businessman Kirimi Koome and the Rwandese are fighting for the ownership of the said companies.
The last defendant witness Hiram Gachugi, the acting deputy registrar of companies told the court that Muhinyuza would be considered a beneficial owner of Stay Online Limited Kenya after following up a complaint he had filed with them.
Gachugi confirmed to the the court that Muhinyuza did file a complaint with the office of the registrar claiming that Koome had failed to disclose the beneficial owners of the company as required by the laws of Kenya.
He added that the only reason the office of the Registrar did not take any action against Kirimi was because the matter was already in court.
“After the plaintiff made the complaint, we could not do anything about it as it could have been prejudice since the matter was in court,” Gachugi testified.
Gachugi further stated that companies are obligated to identify and disclose who the beneficial owner of the company is. In addition, he added that the information should be accurate to ensure transparency in the corporate entity.
The court heard that a beneficial owner is a person who owns or controls the company even though that person is not the legal owner of the company.
According to the registrar, failure by Koome to disclose the beneficial owner of Stay Online Limited Kenya is an offence.
“Therefore, if the matter was not before court, criminal suctions would have been instituted against him,.”
It was his testimony that the office of the registrar of companies never asked Koome to respond to the allegations since the matter was in court.
