MPs unearth transfer of titles of departed Asians properties

PARLIAMENT- Members of Parliament on the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) are investigating circumstances under which the Land Registration department in the Ministry of Lands transferred titles of properties that had been mortgaged in banks before Asians were expelled from Uganda in 1972.

A select sub-committee of Cosase has since last month been investigating how departed Asians’ properties, which were never repossessed and those that whose original owners were compensated by the government, have dubiously been acquired or repossessed by private individuals.

The sub-committee headed by Mr Ibrahim Kasozi (Makindye East) while interacting with the Board Members of the Departed Asians Properties Custodian Board (DAPCB), learnt that, at the time when President Idi Amin expelled Asians from Uganda, at least 84 land titles had been mortgaged to several banks by their owners.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, who doubles as the chairperson of board of directors for DACPB, told the MPs last week that all the titles had been redeemed from the banks after government paid for the mortgages.

Yesterday, the sub-committee tasked DAPCB and Minister of Lands Betty Amongi, who is also a board member, to avail the original titles redeemed from the banks together with copies of searches conducted in the Lands registry.

It was discovered that at least 15 of the 84 titles had been transferred since 1972.

“I think the minister now knows the reason why we asked for all these. The information we have is that most of these properties were transferred fraudulently,” Mr Kasozi said.

It was revealed that officials in the Land Registry, while transferring the titles, issued special certificates of titles on grounds that the original titles had got lost; whereas other properties were transferred in way of re-entering ownership after the “expiry” of the prevailing leaseholds.
Mr Kasaija said repossession of such properties (titles) ended in 1993.

“The titles which we are holding now are supposed to be in the hands of the government because it definitely must have paid the banks. In any case, for a mortgaged property to be repossessed, the repossessor has to pay back to the government,” he said.

The properties, found to have been transferred to new owners despite the original titles having been in the custody of the banks where they were mortgaged, include Plot 9 Radio Road in Jinja; Plot 36 Oboja Road in Jinja; Plot 37 including the whole sanitary lane on Grand Street in Bugiri; Plot 10 Costantino Lobo Road in Mbarara; Plot 2 Kyakajoka, Burahya County in Kabarole; Plot 5 and Plot 8 Queens Road, Nakasero in Kampala; and, Plot 173 Kibuga Block 10 in Mengo.

Kampala Central MP Muhammed Nsereko, who is the lead counsel of the select sub-committee, said the MPs will make further scrutiny of the identified titles to find out how they were transferred before recommending for their cancellation.

Ms Amongi assured the committee that once investigations reveal that there were errors in Lands Registry, the said titles will be cancelled.
She also said there is a challenge in revoking titles in the hands of private individuals or companies because they were allocated by the District Land Boards without the knowledge of the DAPCB.

AG SUMMONED
Meanwhile, the committee has summoned Attorney General William Byaruhanga to appear tomorrow to answer to his role in guiding the board of DAPCB on the legal issues concerning the management of expropriated properties.
This was after for the third time, Mr Byaruhanga who is a member of the board, has been a no show before the committee when his colleagues appear.

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