Denis Bugaya the Chief legal officer and spokesperson of Buganda Land Board, a body responsible for managing Buganda Kingdom land and properties has exclusively confirmed to this investigative website that the Kingdom is investigating the forgery documents implicating some of their top officials.
Bugaya’s clarification stems from an apology made by one of the leading dailies after receiving a complaint from Buganda Land Board bosses denying the quarter a page advert placed in their newspaper in form of a statement connected to the company warning the public to be careful when dealing with the estate of the late tycoon Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige (BMK).
In the said advert, the statement was signed by Omukungu Simon Kaboggoza the Chief Executive Officer of Buganda Land Board indicating that the Kingdom has placed a caveat on the contested properties which were illegally transferred from the names of the deceased to his son a one Harunah Kalule Muwanga.
“Mr Kabogoza’s signature was forged, we never authorised the issuing of that advert even though the caveat was placed on the said properties,” Bugaya said.
More Read
Sources said that the newspaper has also failed to trace the person who delivered and paid for the advert even though there are allegations that the culprits must be a beneficiary of the estate of the deceased and they wanted to use the advert as a weapon against those who want to take their father’s multibillion empire.
According to the document placed in the newspaper, the land caveated properties comprised on Kyadondo Block 273 Plot 46 and 44 situated at Mulamula road and Kyadondo Block 254 Plot 770 at Kasanga and Kibanja registered Vide BLB\01\1162 at Katuuso in Makindye Division Kampala city.
“It has come to our attention that there are allegations through print and social media platforms alluding to how these properties were transferred from the names of Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige (Deceased). This information prompted us as landlords to carry out a search on the register and it revealed that the contested property is registered in the name of Haruna Kalule Muwanga,” the alleged forged documents signed by Kabogoza read in part.
It explained to the Commissioner Land Registration in the Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development that according to their files, as landlords, they described that the said land was still registered in the names of the deceased and whatever was done with the land titles and other documents concerning that land tantamounts to fraud and the culprits should be brought to book and prosecuted.
It enlightened that according to the lease agreement that the deceased signed with Kabaka Mutebi, it was covenanted under 2(C) of the lease agreement that the lesser or his successors in the title will not assign to subdivide, sublet, sell, mortgage or part with the possession of the whole land or any part of the premises without prior written consent of the lessor who is the Kabaka of Buganda.
Documents further read that Buganda Land Board received a letter from BMK’s son Haruna Kalule Kibirige claiming that it was written by his fallen father on 12\04\2021 but was delivered on 15th March 2022, almost a year after being written requesting the Kabaka to transfer the subject property to his names which Buganda Land Board legal officer declined and instead was advised not to execute the request.
Documents indicate that a few days later, Buganda Land Board also received a letter from Equity bank requesting for a consent to mortgage the said properties which the legal officer also declined to approve noting that the person that the Kabaka dealt with was already dead.
“We have however been shocked after carrying out a search with the lands registry that the land comprising plot 46 Mulamula Road was transferred and mortgaged without the consent of the landlord as required by the law and by the lease agreement,” the documents read further.
They added that Buganda Land Board suspects that there was negligence, fraud and connivance that needs to be investigated in all responsible offices because it was done without the consent of the landlord.
Furthermore, they allege that the fraud may cause financial loss to the government of Uganda and financial institutions which dealt with the fraudster during the said transaction.
In the document, they pleaded with the Commissioner Land Registration to cancel all the land titles registered on Kabaka’s land adding that the matter has been already brought before the attention of Court through the deputy registrar and executors of the deceased’s estate.
Sources within Buganda Land Board confirmed to this website that whatever is indicated in the document is factual. The only problem is that it was not authorized by the company and Kabogoza’s signature was forged.
The said developments come at a time when Youth and children affairs Minister Balaam Bagaruhare, equity bank and Yako bank have secured court orders to auction the deceased’s properties to recover their money they lent to BMK’s son Kalule using the said properties as security.
Balaam claimed that Kalule borrowed Shs1.5bn from him after convincing him that he was going to return his money on time.
Kalule told Balaam that he was going to use the money to finish a Shs30bn deal he executed with the government to build public hospitals around the country.
Balaam asserts that when he started demanding for his money, President Museveni summoned him and advised him not to auction BMK’s children’s properties, assuring him that he was looking for alternatives on how to save their father’s multibillion estate.
“Those people are not transparent and they wanted to take my money fraudulently because as far as I know, the government paid them Shs4.5bn recently and it was deposited on their bank account but they refused to pay my money. So the only option available is for me to auction their properties and recover my money,” Balaam said.
As Balaam is threatening to auction BMK’s properties, the family of the deceased led by Ali Muwanga Kibirige are fighting tooth and nail through their lawyers led by Derrick Bazzeketta to save their empire even though they suffered a setback recently when the Court of Appeal denied them an order stopping the auctioning of their father’s properties by the bank.
Yako bank through their lawyers led by former deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana told court that there is nothing to stop them because the properties they were targeting to recover their money have already been sold to a third party who is not part of the suit.
However, Kabaka Mutebi insists that whatever was done on BMK properties is illegal and he wants the land titles to be registered back in his name which is likely to result into another legal battle.
