A Kenyan businessman has told the High Court he is the sole owner of Stay Online Limited, a company at the centre of a Ksh400 million ownership dispute.
On Wednesday, December 20, 2023, Kirimi Koome told Justice Alfred Mabeya that he is the sole director and 100 per cent shareholder of the company which Rwandan investor Desire Muhinyuza claims to be his.
He presented a certificate of registration from the Registrar of Companies to prove ownership.
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During cross-examination by defence Danstan Omari on the second day of his testimony over the ownership, control and management of Stay Online Kenya Limited, Koome told the judge that the company was incorporated on April 14, 2023, after presenting an application at the company registry.
When asked by lawyer Omari when Koome conceptualized the company, he said 10 years.
Koome told the judge that he instructed a city lawyer to register the company on his behalf at a fee.
"I instructed someone else to register the company on my behalf. I requested a lawyer, Harry Bob since l am not an expert in registering the company. I gave my identity card, KRA PIN certificate and passport-size photo," he told the court.
He also tabled in court the company registration form which showed that he is the sole director and share of Stay Online Kenya Limited.
Koome further said that he fully paid for the registration of the company and the information for the registration was keyed into the Registrar of Company systems on March 20, 2023.
The businessman has admitted to the court that he received a total of Ksh18 million for tax and operation costs from Kigali, Rwanda.
He told Justice Alfred Mabeya that he received the money wired from a Rwandan bank under instruction from a foreign investor Desire Muhinyuza.
"I confirm that l received a total of USD 129,000 to my company's UBA bank account from Rwanda for operational cost and tax," Koome told the judge.
Shown a resolution of the board of directors of Stay Online Company in Rwanda dated April 1, 2023, appointing him as Kenyan representative, Koome disowned it saying that he learnt about it in court.
He further denied knowing a resolution passed that also paved the way for the opening of independent Stay Online Limited companies in Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya.
Koome said his company is an online payment service provider and deals with various international merchants among them Visa Card and Mastercard.
While questioned on how he pays the commissions earned from selling merchandise online, Koome said "it is a trade secret l can not disclose in court."
The Kenyan businessman also told the court that USD 2.6 million that has since been frozen by the court belongs to his company Stay Online Limited.
Asked by Omari how he came to know the Rwandan investor, Koome said he was introduced to him by his friend who is a manager at Equity Bank Kigali, Patrick Okuba.
Independent contractor from Rwanda
He added that he engaged Desire as an independent contractor to his firm Stay Online Limited.
The court heard that when Desire came to Kenya earlier this year, he met Koome and they agreed to do business. Koome however sought to have a formal agreement entered between the two before a city lawyer but the foreigner declined.
The Kenyan trader further disclosed that he paid Desire USD 100 million from the company situated at Karen through a swift transfer to Kigali.
"I paid the independent contractor money from the company. This was done through swift transfer in Karen Nairobi to ExframeOU Kigali. An amount of USD 100 million was made on July 4, 2023," Koome stated.
The businessman further informed the court that his emails were later hacked by Desire and his agents.
"My emails were hacked and emails sent that l have transferred shares and resigned from my Stay Online Limited," Koome told the judge.
In addition, he said that Desire has used all investigation agencies in the country to harass him in a bid to abandon his own company.
Koome was testifying in a case which has been sued by Desire forr allegedly defrauding him and his company for merchant settlement.
Desire says that Koome was appointed to register the company while he regularised his immigration status.
The Rwandan investor is therefore asking the High to archive the company and to declare him as the sole proprietor of Stay Online Limited (SOL)
"That the company should be archived and Desire should be assisted to regain control of the company as the parent owner and beneficial owner of the same to safeguard the significant foreign investment and avert further loss," Lawyer Omari pleads.
He adds that the documents availed from the Registrar of Companies, Desire exercise indirect ownership and control as the beneficial owner of his shares which are held on his behalf by his nominee Koome.
The hearing continues on Thursday.
