Fake land titles on the increase
Nov 03, 2007
A WOMAN in her 50s walked into the land office at the ministry of lands in January this year. She had a land title she wanted certified so that she could use it to obtain a loan from the bank.
By Lydia Namubiru
A WOMAN in her 50s walked into the land office at the ministry of lands in January this year. She had a land title she wanted certified so that she could use it to obtain a loan from the bank.
To her surprise, she was arrested and her title impounded. Officials in the land office informed her that the title was a counterfeit of an already existing title for the land.
She could not believe it. She had safely kept her title for years from the day she got it. How could it be fake?
“The records at the land office showed that the genuine title had already been used to obtain a loan from the bank. So we took the woman to CID to record a statement,†Dennis Obbo, the spokesperson of the lands ministry explained. She was arrested for two days but she maintained that she had no idea how she came to possess a fake title.
She however told the police that, years earlier, she had paid a surveyor to process the transfer of the title into her name.
Police investigations revealed that the surveyor had, indeed, processed the transfer of the title into the woman’s name.
But on getting it from the land office, he used it to procure a counterfeit copy. He gave the fake one to the woman and kept the genuine one. Through a lawyer, the fraudulent surveyor then used the genuine title to obtain a loan from the bank. The title has since been recovered from the bank.
Like this woman, hundreds of land title holders in Kampala may be unknowingly holding forged land titles. Already, 300 fake land titles have been confiscated in Kampala, according to the committee that is reorganising the central land registry.
The ministry on Wednesday warned the public about land frauds. According to a statement issued, the areas most affected by land title fraudsters are Munyonyo, Namugongo, Bweyogerere, Kulambiro, Kyanja, Muyenga and Bunga.
“We actually cannot tell how many fake land titles are out there in circulation because we are not the ones who make them. But so far, we have impounded over 200 fake land titles here at the land office,†says Obbo.
Many of the titles were taken to the land office by people who had already bought the land and were trying to transfer the title into their name, he explained. Others were taken by the fraudsters themselves, who wanted to test if their counterfeits could pass for genuine ones.
“We arrest whoever brings a fake title and impound the title,†he warned, adding that the practice was spreading to other parts of the country.
To fake a title, the fraudsters only need to know the county where the land is situated, its block and plot number. They then go to the land registry and pay sh10,000 to search for the details pertaining the land. As part of the general procedure, they will be given a photocopy of the registrar’s copy of the land title. Using the details on the photocopy, they can design and print a counterfeit copy of the owner’s land title. “Some of them even have gone as far as faking the seal that appears on the genuine titles,†says Obbo.
what is genuine land title
A land title consists of two documents: the certificate of title and a deed plan.
The certificate of title is a folder-like document, bearing the name of the district and county where the land is located, as well as the block and plot number. The inner spread of the certificate bears the history of transactions made and any encumbrances on the land, such as caveats and mortgages signed against by the parties involved. It should also bear the seal of the Office of Titles Uganda.
This seal should be visible and raised on both sides of the top sheet of the certificate. The certificate must bear the signature of the registrar of titles. But that does not ensure the certificate is genuine. “The only way one can know if their title is genuine is to have it verified here at the land office,†Obbo says.
The deed plan is a single-folio document, similar to a house plan that shows both the location of the land on the national grid in relation to the neighbouring lands. It is drawn by the surveyor of the land, who must be registered. It should show the same plot number as the one shown on the certificate of title. The owner’s copy of the land title must be exactly identical with the registrar’s copy at the land office, including the colour of ink used to sign the two as they should have been signed at the same time.
Legal Redress
Julius Turinawe, a practicing advocate with Nuwagaba and Mwebesa advocates, says that according to the Registration of Title Act, a certificate of title is enough evidence of ownership of land, therefore he who holds the genuine title owns the land.
He advised people who bought land and received a fake land title to seek legal redress in court. “You can sue that person in a civil court and seek compensation for the money you paid for the land, as well as costs of the suit and damagesâ€, he explained.
“But you cannot get the land back because the person with the genuine land title owns the land.â€
Falsifying a land title is a serious offence, he added. “You can sue that person in a criminal court for forgery and he or she will be liable to seven or more years of imprisonment if found guilty.â€
He, however, pointed out that the criminal court could not order for compensation. “If you want compensation, go to a civil court. You can sue the person in both courts at the same timeâ€, he advised.
If you have any inquiries on land, call the ministry of lands help-lines on 0414340250 or 0414373510
HOW THE FRAUD OCCURS
A fraudster can procure a counterfeit title when the original is still in existence. This is usually done using a photocopy of the registrar’s original land title obtained from the land registry.
-A fraudster can arrange for the issuance of a duplicate of the land title when the original is still in existence. Usually a duplicate title (special title) is issued only when it is certified that the original was lost. But, through unethical officers, a fraudster may obtain one and go on to use it to sell land for which he is not the registered owner.
-A fraudster may forge transfer documents showing that the land title has been transferred into his name when in fact it has not.
-The land title may be stolen. In which case the original owner may have reported the matter to the Police and placed a caveat on the land.
-The fraudster may fake a land title for land that is not actually available for sale such as road reserves, wet lands and forests.
HOW TO BEAT THE FRAUD
To guard the public against land fraudsters, the land ministry has the following advice to people who want to buy land:
-Visit the land you intend to buy and physically inspect it.
-Talk to people in the vicinity of the land in order to confirm that the purported seller is indeed the owner of the land. If there are any disputes, do not buy the land.
-Meet the actual owner of the land and not merely his or her purported agent.
-Go with the owner of the land or their representative to the land registry to verify the land in question before you pay any money.
-When going to the land registry, insist that the owner carries the original land certificate and not a photocopy. Many of the enhanced features of the land title are not reproduced on the photocopy. If you carry only a photocopy, there will be no way of knowing that the title from which it was copied was genuine.
-Hire a registered advocate to do the land transaction on your behalf because it is a technical process. However, do not surrender any original documents to them as this exposes you to fraud.
-Insist on verifying the land title with the land registry at the ministry of lands before you pay.
-Transfer the title of the land into your name as soon as you purchase the land.
-Do the transfer process yourself.
A WOMAN in her 50s walked into the land office at the ministry of lands in January this year. She had a land title she wanted certified so that she could use it to obtain a loan from the bank.
To her surprise, she was arrested and her title impounded. Officials in the land office informed her that the title was a counterfeit of an already existing title for the land.
She could not believe it. She had safely kept her title for years from the day she got it. How could it be fake?
“The records at the land office showed that the genuine title had already been used to obtain a loan from the bank. So we took the woman to CID to record a statement,†Dennis Obbo, the spokesperson of the lands ministry explained. She was arrested for two days but she maintained that she had no idea how she came to possess a fake title.
She however told the police that, years earlier, she had paid a surveyor to process the transfer of the title into her name.
Police investigations revealed that the surveyor had, indeed, processed the transfer of the title into the woman’s name.
But on getting it from the land office, he used it to procure a counterfeit copy. He gave the fake one to the woman and kept the genuine one. Through a lawyer, the fraudulent surveyor then used the genuine title to obtain a loan from the bank. The title has since been recovered from the bank.
Like this woman, hundreds of land title holders in Kampala may be unknowingly holding forged land titles. Already, 300 fake land titles have been confiscated in Kampala, according to the committee that is reorganising the central land registry.
The ministry on Wednesday warned the public about land frauds. According to a statement issued, the areas most affected by land title fraudsters are Munyonyo, Namugongo, Bweyogerere, Kulambiro, Kyanja, Muyenga and Bunga.
“We actually cannot tell how many fake land titles are out there in circulation because we are not the ones who make them. But so far, we have impounded over 200 fake land titles here at the land office,†says Obbo.
Many of the titles were taken to the land office by people who had already bought the land and were trying to transfer the title into their name, he explained. Others were taken by the fraudsters themselves, who wanted to test if their counterfeits could pass for genuine ones.
“We arrest whoever brings a fake title and impound the title,†he warned, adding that the practice was spreading to other parts of the country.
To fake a title, the fraudsters only need to know the county where the land is situated, its block and plot number. They then go to the land registry and pay sh10,000 to search for the details pertaining the land. As part of the general procedure, they will be given a photocopy of the registrar’s copy of the land title. Using the details on the photocopy, they can design and print a counterfeit copy of the owner’s land title. “Some of them even have gone as far as faking the seal that appears on the genuine titles,†says Obbo.
what is genuine land title
A land title consists of two documents: the certificate of title and a deed plan.
The certificate of title is a folder-like document, bearing the name of the district and county where the land is located, as well as the block and plot number. The inner spread of the certificate bears the history of transactions made and any encumbrances on the land, such as caveats and mortgages signed against by the parties involved. It should also bear the seal of the Office of Titles Uganda.
This seal should be visible and raised on both sides of the top sheet of the certificate. The certificate must bear the signature of the registrar of titles. But that does not ensure the certificate is genuine. “The only way one can know if their title is genuine is to have it verified here at the land office,†Obbo says.
The deed plan is a single-folio document, similar to a house plan that shows both the location of the land on the national grid in relation to the neighbouring lands. It is drawn by the surveyor of the land, who must be registered. It should show the same plot number as the one shown on the certificate of title. The owner’s copy of the land title must be exactly identical with the registrar’s copy at the land office, including the colour of ink used to sign the two as they should have been signed at the same time.
Legal Redress
Julius Turinawe, a practicing advocate with Nuwagaba and Mwebesa advocates, says that according to the Registration of Title Act, a certificate of title is enough evidence of ownership of land, therefore he who holds the genuine title owns the land.
He advised people who bought land and received a fake land title to seek legal redress in court. “You can sue that person in a civil court and seek compensation for the money you paid for the land, as well as costs of the suit and damagesâ€, he explained.
“But you cannot get the land back because the person with the genuine land title owns the land.â€
Falsifying a land title is a serious offence, he added. “You can sue that person in a criminal court for forgery and he or she will be liable to seven or more years of imprisonment if found guilty.â€
He, however, pointed out that the criminal court could not order for compensation. “If you want compensation, go to a civil court. You can sue the person in both courts at the same timeâ€, he advised.
If you have any inquiries on land, call the ministry of lands help-lines on 0414340250 or 0414373510
HOW THE FRAUD OCCURS
A fraudster can procure a counterfeit title when the original is still in existence. This is usually done using a photocopy of the registrar’s original land title obtained from the land registry.
-A fraudster can arrange for the issuance of a duplicate of the land title when the original is still in existence. Usually a duplicate title (special title) is issued only when it is certified that the original was lost. But, through unethical officers, a fraudster may obtain one and go on to use it to sell land for which he is not the registered owner.
-A fraudster may forge transfer documents showing that the land title has been transferred into his name when in fact it has not.
-The land title may be stolen. In which case the original owner may have reported the matter to the Police and placed a caveat on the land.
-The fraudster may fake a land title for land that is not actually available for sale such as road reserves, wet lands and forests.
HOW TO BEAT THE FRAUD
To guard the public against land fraudsters, the land ministry has the following advice to people who want to buy land:
-Visit the land you intend to buy and physically inspect it.
-Talk to people in the vicinity of the land in order to confirm that the purported seller is indeed the owner of the land. If there are any disputes, do not buy the land.
-Meet the actual owner of the land and not merely his or her purported agent.
-Go with the owner of the land or their representative to the land registry to verify the land in question before you pay any money.
-When going to the land registry, insist that the owner carries the original land certificate and not a photocopy. Many of the enhanced features of the land title are not reproduced on the photocopy. If you carry only a photocopy, there will be no way of knowing that the title from which it was copied was genuine.
-Hire a registered advocate to do the land transaction on your behalf because it is a technical process. However, do not surrender any original documents to them as this exposes you to fraud.
-Insist on verifying the land title with the land registry at the ministry of lands before you pay.
-Transfer the title of the land into your name as soon as you purchase the land.
-Do the transfer process yourself.