By Sam Alfan.
An Egyptian property developer, Elsaei Waseem Ahmed Ahmed, has scored a major legal victory after an order freezing his bank accounts in a fight with Rwandese investor, lapsed.
The freeze had been imposed following claims by a Rwandan investor who alleged he was defrauded of KSh134 million in a housing deal gone sour.
The freeze orders, which affected two accounts held at Diamond Trust Bank—one in Kenyan shillings and another in U.S. dollars—were issued in December 2024 pending the hearing and determination of an application filed by the complainant, Jean Baptiste Uwemeye, and his children.
However, in a ruling delivered by Justice Njoki Mwangi, the court declared the orders had automatically lapsed with the delivery of the ruling.
The judge stated: “This therefore means that the said orders will elapse upon delivery of this ruling, leaving nothing to be set aside… the application for setting aside the said orders is not merited as I have already declined to uphold the orders that I granted at ex-parte stage.”
This effectively unfreezes the developer’s bank accounts, with the court noting there was no longer a need to determine whether Diamond Trust Bank should be compelled to do so.
In the same ruling, the court also rejected an application by Ahmed seeking to gag the Rwandan investor, his children, and their agents from making public comments or publishing any information related to the case in the media.
Justice Mwangi found that the developer failed to prove the existence of a media campaign against him or to specify the type of information he wished to protect.
“The applicant has not demonstrated the alleged media campaign launched by the investor. He also failed to identify the specific information to be protected, or whether his proposed gag order complies with the limitations on rights as required by Article 24 of the Constitution,” the judge ruled.
“For the foregoing reasons, I am not persuaded that the applicant has made out a case to warrant being granted a gag order.”
In his filings, Ahmed told the court he is the Director of Grand Premier Limited and claimed that the dispute arose from an off-plan property sale agreement entered into with Uwemeye.
According to him, the investor had agreed to purchase units worth USD 1.31 million, of which USD 1.04 million had already been paid, leaving a balance of USD 270,000.
He further stated that the apartment complex had been completed as per offer letters and was certified for occupation, but delays in handover were caused by extensive fit-out requests from the plaintiffs, which went beyond standard construction and conflicted with planning regulations.
Ahmed claimed that structural and interior changes worth USD 1,069,389.38 were made at the plaintiffs’ request, in addition to unreimbursed expenses of USD 420,000.
Despite this, he said the plaintiffs refused to sign formal sale agreements, opting instead to pursue court action that contradicted the terms of the original agreement.
He also alleged that the plaintiffs acted in bad faith by rejecting out-of-court settlement offers and by launching a media campaign intended to tarnish his reputation.
Ahmed has denied allegations of tax evasion, calling them false and malicious.
The case remains ongoing.
Egyptian Developer Wins Big as Court Lifts Freeze on Bank Accounts.
