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A long-standing land dispute in Nakaseke district’s Ngoma sub-county is yet to be resolved after years of fraudulent activities and deceit engage in by the former National Drug Authority (NDA) Company Secretary, Robert Korutaro.
Korutaro who allegedly grabbed the land that belonged to three children of Auguste Mugomba claims to have bought it from the deceased before his death is under fire following repeated accusations from family members.
The ancestral land in question, measuring 493 acres, was originally purchased by Auguste Mugomba between 1943 and 1945.
After Mugomba’s death in 1976, his children, Speciosa Nakayiza Musisi, Kituuka Alipo, and Ddamulira Bathromel, inherited the land.
However, in 2006, two fraudsters, Edward Rwabana and Geoffrey Kaggwa who were operating under the armpits of Korutaro, created a fictitious daughter of Mugomba, Penina Nakafeero, and attempted to transfer the land into her name.
Korutaro’s plan was foiled when the administrators of the land, led by Speciosa Nakayiza Musisi, discovered their scheme and reported it to the authorities. A caveat was placed on the land, and a court case was opened in 2007 to prove that Penina Nakafeero was not a legitimate heir to the land.
During the investigation, police found that Penina Nakafeero and Ndesebalya village did not exist. The administrators were granted letters of administration in 2015, and the land title was cancelled in Robert Korutaro’s name and reinstated in Auguste Mugomba’s name in 2017.
However, Korutaro continued to occupy the land, and it was discovered that he had been fraudulently reinstated as the title holder in 2020. An appeal was made to the commissioner of lands, and Korutaro’s reinstatement was nullified, with Auguste Mugomba’s administrators being recognized as the rightful title holders.
Lands Ministry intervenes
On receipt of appeals from family members, the Minister of Lands, Judith Nabakooba, the presidential task force on land matters and environment overseer Brig. Gen. Moses Lukyamuzi at State House and Gertrude Nkuba of land matters intervened to help the orphans of the late Mugomba from these land grabbers but it remains to be seen.
Much as land tittle in Korutaro’s names was cancelled by the commissioner lands and Auguste Mugomba reinstated under instrument number BUK 162144, Korutaro still occupies the land.
In 2020 the administrators established that Korutaro had been fraudulently reinstated in the registry as the title holder to which an appeal was made to the commissioner lands and Korutaro’s reinstatement nullified and Mugomba Auguste reinstated in the land registry system.
Despite the resolution, Korutaro still occupies the land, and the administrators are seeking further action to evict him. The case highlights the ongoing issues of land fraud and corruption in Uganda and the need for vigilance in protecting property rights.
Efforts to reach Korutaro and his team who masterminded the grabbing of orphans.
The family is now calling for the intervention of Lands Mimister, Judith Nabakooba, the head of State House Land Protection Unit, Brig. Gen. Lukyamuzi and Mrs Gertrude Njuba to intervene to help orphans from these land grabbers.