The no nonsense Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Maj. Dr. Tom Magambo has directed a forensic investigation into allegation that Martin Ocheng the proprietor of the controversial Ebenezer Real Estate, Mukono Police Officers, Officer from Justice Jane Frances Abodo’s Director of Public Prosecution(DPP) and Officers from the Ministry of Lands participated and influenced the manufacturing of forged documents which were used to grab land at Natabulirirwa in Mukono district.
Highly placed sources at Kibuli based CID headquarters told TV10Ganomazima that Maj. Magambo’s directive comes after a one Josephine Nakandi, a resident of Nabuti Mukono district filed a complaint to his office.
In her complaint seen by TV10Ganomazima, Nakandi claims that between 2013-14, she entered into a land transaction with one Rashid Kabuye who is a land dealer in Mukono district to sell her two pieces of land measuring 3 acres.
She explained that she paid over Shs600m to Kabuye in installment because he told her that he needs money to transfer the said land from the names of Luwangula Estate into his names then after she will transfer the land into her names.
She narrated that Kabuye first took her to his lawyer a one Phillip Mukhembo of Wameri and Company Advocates who assured her that he was the one handling the transfer of the land title which was still registered in the names of the late Prince Alexander Ssimbwa, a son to fallen Buganda Kingdom King Sir Daudi Chwa.
She added that because she wanted to confirm the ownership of the land, she asked Mukhembo and Kabuye to take her to Prince Ssimbwa.
She was taken to his residence in Kabowa Lubaga Division Kampala City and he confirmed ownership of the land.
Nakandi told police detectives that Prince Ssimbwa assured her that he had sold the land to Kabuye and Mukhembo and even gave them the land titles to transfer the land on Kyaggwe Block 113 plot 2400 and another piece on Kyaggwe Block 113 Plot 2401.
She stated that in 2021, Kabuye made called her directing her to go to his surveyor a one Bwete in Mukono to sign the transfer form so that the process of transfering the said land into her name kicks off.
Nakandi explained that after signing the transfer forms, she started looking for money to pay the government tax and other requirements in the Ministry of Lands but in the middle of the process, she received a phone call from one of the neighbours close to the land informing her that there were people who were grading her land.
She immediately rushed to the piece of land and found body built men providing security to the man who was driving the tractor that was grading the land.
When she asked them why they were grading her land, they told her that the land belongs to Ebenezer Real Estate. She reported the matter to the area chairperson who witnessed the signing of the agreement who advised her to report the matter to Mukono police station.
At Mukono police station, she was given policemen who stormed the area and arrested all the suspects including the tractor driven. The suspects were taken to Mukono police station.
She recorded a statement and her complaint was registered on File Number CRB 458/23. She was also told that the suspects are also going to record statements on charges of criminal trespass, forceful entry onto her land and malicious damage because the tractor demolished the house she had built on the land.
She narrated that the morning next day, she went to police to meet the Investigating Officer a one Grace Alubo who informed her that the suspects were released on the directive of the DPC on police bond and were ordered to report back as investigations continue.
She said that she went to the Ministry of Lands to carry out a search to see whether the land title was still registered in the names of Luwangula Estate.
Once her search was positive, and she transferred the land into her name, Alubo called her asking her to report to Mukono police station because she wanted her to record an extra police statement.
Because she was attending a function, she pleaded with her to allow her to come the next day which she accepted. She explained that when she reported to police, Alubo directed her to remove her shoes and other metals on her body and ordered her to enter the police cell.
After 30 minutes, Alubo came and ordered her out of the cell and she was taken to record a statement where she was informed of charges of uttering false documents and forgery. She declined to record the statement in the absence of her lawyers. She was allowed to make a phone call to her lawyer.
When her lawyer came, he assisted her to record the statement and asked for a police bond but Alubo told her that her matter was beyond her.
She spent the entire weekend in the police cells and on Monday she was taken to Mukono Chief Magistrate Court, charged and remanded to Kawuga government prison where she spent a week. She was later released on a court bail.
She went back to do a search because she was very sure that the reason why she was imprisoned was to give Ebenezer tycoon a chance to fraudulently transfer her land into his company’s name because according to the charge-sheet, she was accused of uttering false documents and forging documents she used to transfer the said land into her names.
The search established that the land was already transferred into Ebenezer Real Estate names and they had started subdividing the land into small plots for sale.
Nakandi claims that Ocheng told police that he bought the land from Kabuye and he advises her to talk to Kabuye so that they sort themselves out otherwise he is not ready to surrender his land to her. When contacted, Kabuye denied having sold the land to Ocheng insisting that he sold the said land to Nakandi and he is ready to testify in Court.
Sources at Kibuli based CID headquarters told TV10Ganomazima that Maj. Dr. Magambo directed Kampala Metropolitan East CID department to revisit all the files opened over the said matter and establish the truth.
We exclusively established that Ocheng was summoned to police and Nakandi was also summoned to record fresh statements including Mukono police officers who are implicated in the commission of the crime. Even though Alubo who was the Investigating Officer was transferred to Kayunga district, she was also summoned.
We have been reliably informed that Brig. Gen. Moses Lukyamuzi of the State House Presidential Taskforce on Land Matters and Environment and Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit are also investigating the same crime because Nakandi pleaded with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene.
Since Saturday last week, TV10Ganomazima has been making frequent phone calls to Ocheng to comment on the allegations but he was not responding and on Thursday, he started making our phone calls busy.
