JOHANNESBURG, January 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —
On 13 Jan 2014 UTC ceased to exist as private enterprise. The USD20million shopping mall was henceforth seized by government without compensation and without due legal process. Government’s Commission of the Abandoned Properties took direct control by installing its own managing director. Government justifies this nationalisation without compensation with claims that UTC is ‘an abandoned property’ because the company’s shareholder resides outside Rwanda. But shareholders of most leading companies in Rwanda, including BRALIRWA, MTN, and Kenya Commercial Bank, etc live outside Rwanda. The real motivation for illegal seizure of UTC therefore remains mysterious and troubling for a country that has invested heavily in its reputation as serious investment destination. READ MORE