The walls are closing in on public officials accused of land fraud, and this time, the law has caught up with a big fish. Nicodemus Sitenda Mugalu, who is the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Gomba District, has been charged and remanded to prison until June 5, 2025. This follows serious accusations of abuse of office, forgery, and fraudulent dealings in land titles.
This morning, Mugalu was brought before the Anti-Corruption Court by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (@AntiGraft_SH), in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (@CID1_UG) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (@ODPPUGANDA). The court didn’t grant him bail and instead ordered his remand.
Mugalu’s arrest is connected to a bigger scandal involving the illegal creation of land titles on land already owned by the Madhvani Group Ltd. According to prosecutors, Mugalu and ten others including the Acting Commissioner for Mapping and Surveys, Kakooza Jasper were part of a fraudulent scheme that took place between 2016 and 2017. At that time, Mugalu worked as a Cartographer at the Mpigi District Lands Office.
Officials say Mugalu abused his position by plotting land that overlapped an existing land title belonging to the Madhvani Group, specifically on File Reference Volume 60 Folio 4 in Gomba District.
He reportedly went a step further by forging applications to convert the land from customary ownership to freehold tenure. Using these forged documents, certificates of title were fraudulently issued in the names of different individuals, effectively stealing the land from its rightful owners.
The Madhvani Group, one of Uganda’s largest and most respected business empires, owns vast areas of land used for agriculture and industry. The fraudulent activities carried out by Mugalu and his accomplices threatened not only the company’s assets but also investor confidence in Uganda’s land management system.
The case is being closely watched, as it is expected to reveal more about deep-rooted corruption in land administration offices. The prosecution says it has solid evidence linking Mugalu and the others to the fraudulent creation of titles. Investigations are ongoing, and more arrests may follow.
For now, Mugalu will spend the next two weeks behind bars, awaiting further court proceedings. The public awaits justice to be served not just for Madhvani Group, but for every Ugandan who has fallen victim to land fraud.
