The Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) executive secretary has revealed that the board is in the custody of 30 unclaimed original certificates of repossession, dispelling allegations that they are lost.

This, according to George William Bizibu, means that the owners can obtain their certificate of repossession as per law without interference.

Speaking to journalists on Monday at the board offices in Kampala, Bizibu said whereas they have the certificates, some people have transferred the properties basing on statutory declarations, claiming the titles got lost.

“Some people have resorted to using District Land Boards to deal with such properties using statutory declarations while others are using fake powers of attorney to transfer the properties,” he disclosed.

The Parliament committee on commissions, statutory authorities, and state enterprises (COSASE) is also investigating several individuals on allegations of fraudulent acquisition of Asian properties.

Some of the people being investigated by COSASE include a man (name withheld) who possesses 1200 properties. However, the executive secretary declined to name those being investigated.

Bizibu said the land protection unit has so far received 20 cases but they are over 2,000 countrywide. Records also indicate that several people are fighting for 63 properties in the courts of law.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has also sanctioned several files, pending prosecution of individuals, who allegedly obtained the properties fraudulently.

Titles

COSASE has also investigated and directed the cancellation of 200 titles that were illegally handled by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

The executive director also said many of the Asian properties are dilapidated, mainly in the districts of Kampala, Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli, Soroti, Masaka, Kabale, and Arua.

“The urban authorities wanted an explanation on why the properties were dilapidated but they learned that the current owners who are alleging to be the owners cannot do any development because of fear and not sure of what will happen,” Bizibu explained.

The executive director discovered that most of the owners of the properties did not have documents to enable them register for the titles.

Districts

The chairperson divestiture committee, Dr Abdulhu Byakatonda said the board in 2019 formed a working committee at the district level to verify and inspect people, who are occupying the properties.

He said Resident District Commissioners, LC5, City Resident Commissioners, land registrars, chair the committees while DPCs, DSCOS, and chairman district land board are members.

Byakatonda said this will help them recover and ensure that development goes on since most of the people cannot develop them for lack of land titles. 

COSASE takes probe to UK, Canada

In January 2020, COSASE went to United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, to interview Indians, who were expelled from Uganda, leaving property worth billions of shillings.

In 1983, the DAPCB was put in charge of between 9,000 to 10,000 properties of Asians, who were evicted from Uganda during President Idi Amin’s era.

However, by 2009, 1,676 properties had been sold, some repossessed, compensated while some 3,226 remain unsold and unclaimed.

In July 2020, the committee started investigations into the disposal and acquisition of Asian Property, after a revelation by the custodian board secretary, Bizibu that Uganda had lost Sh1.8 trillion to people who have fraudulently repossessed, the Asian Property.

The committee was tasked to among other things, establish any possible fraudulent activities during the repossession of the properties.

It was also tasked to establish allegations that some properties of the Indians were repossessed yet the owners had been compensated fully by the government.

On August 10, 2018, a Canadian-Asian family petitioned the Land Commission of Inquiry and Parliament claiming ownership of the 366.2 acres of land owned by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).