By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU), in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), has arraigned Nicodemus Sitenda Mugalu, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Gomba District, before the Anti-Corruption Court.
Mugalu who faces charges of abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, and forgery appeared before Court on Thursday, 22nd May, 2025. He has been remanded to prison until June 5, 2025, pending further hearings.
According to prosecutors, Mugalu was previously a cartographer at the Mpigi District Lands Office, where he allegedly played a central role in a land fraud scheme that targeted property owned by the Madhvani Group Ltd, one of Uganda’s oldest and largest business conglomerates.
The disputed land, registered under FRV 60 Folio 4 in Gomba District, was allegedly overlapped through illegal plotting between 2016 and 2017. Mugalu is accused of forging an application to convert the land from customary to freehold tenure, and fraudulently procuring certificates of title in the names of several individuals.
He now joins a growing list of officials implicated in the scandal, including Kakooza Jasper, the Acting Commissioner for Mapping and Surveys at the Ministry of Lands, and nine other suspects who have already been charged for their alleged roles in the fraudulent title creation scheme.
Authorities say the case underscores the growing sophistication of land fraud in Uganda, often involving collusion among public officials, surveyors, and private individuals to illegally acquire high-value land, including land already titled.
The Madhvani Group has expressed concern over the fraudulent overlapping of its land, with company representatives calling on the government to expedite justice and secure the sanctity of land records in Uganda.
