“HE THREATENED TO THROW IT AWAY, ABOMINATION IN OUR GISHU CULTURE!”
By our reporter
After hearing rumors that the powerful Fdc secretary general and former leader of opposition in Parliament Hon.Nathan Nandala Mafabi had vowed to exhume his daughter’s remains buried 11 yrs ago and throw them away to develop the now disputed land in Mbale Town, with his son in law-Steven Wobweni , Mzei Peter Wamuddu’s only last request was to allow him take her daughter for a decent burial at their ancestral home, because in “our Gishu culture it’s an abomination”!.
“When I arrived at his office in Mbale Town,Mafabi himself told me if I didn’t remove it he would order his boys to raze it down and throw it away because he wanted to develop the place” Mzei Wamuddu painfully explained to me with tears rolling down his wrinkled cheeks when I visited him two weeks ago at his home in the out skirts of Mbale Town.
Mzei Wamuddu however explained that when he accepted to take his daughter’s remains, Hon.Nandala ordered his manager to give him a pick-up to transport it. “The only assistance he gave me was transport; he gave me a pick Up to carry the ‘body’” narrated Mzei Wamuddu.
Sylvia Wanyenya Wobweni,35 who was officially married to South Africa based Ugandan Business man Steven Wobweni died of skin cancer in August 2006 in a South African hospital and was buried at her husband’s home (now the disputed land) in the out skirts of Mbale tow. However 11 yrs later, her remains were exhumed last year and reburied at her father’s home in Masawi Bhumbobi Bunkhoko ,Mbale District after Nandala allegedly acquired the said land through ‘back door’ and threatened to raze the grave down for new developments.
Nandala’s acquisition of this piece of land is still contested by its ‘former’ owner Steven Wobwenyi on the account of forged land tittle transfers and driving permit.
On 29th Jan 2017 Wabweni wrote to the Director CID Grace Akullo at Kibuli Headquarters to investigate the fraud that saw his land tittle change hands in 24 hours from his name to Nandala, he also asked the investigators to verify the signatures used in the transfer forms since he didn’t hand the transfer papers nor sign at the time of handing over the tittles to Nandala as a condition to borrow him UGX 150M.
POLICE FORENSIC REPORT CONQUERE WITH WOBWENI!
The police signatures forensic report released after a long wait of 4 months finally came out this week on Monday 29th May 2017 and your guess is as good as mine; it puts the battle hardened opposition honcho in more trouble, the signatures were forged!
“I have carefully examined the questioned signatures in exhibits B and C and then compared them with the samples provided. The examination was carried out using specialized scientific methods such as VSC 5000 (video Spectral Comparison), sketching and visual observation method and the results as follows;
I have observed fundamental differences between the questioned signatures in exhibits ‘B’and ‘C’and the sample signatures jointly marked ‘A’. They are different in position of the introductory stroke, pen movement of strokes,direction of the ending strokes,relative size,shape,structure and simplicity” said Chelangat Sylvia,the Forensic document examiner at the police Headquarters at Naguru on Monday.
Chelangati couldn’t have concluded professionally as bound by her duty without categorically dust binning the said transaction using forged signatures; “Based on the observations made above in my opinion there is strong evidence to show that the author of the sample signatures in exhibits marked ‘A’ didn’t sign the questioned signatures in exhibits ‘B’ and ‘C’. This would mean that,all other conditions constant, the law can’t support a transaction carried out using forged documents and thus null and void.
Sources at Kibuli based CID head Quarters confirmed the CID investigating officer had also applied for their own independent report to compare with that of Mr Wobweni which he had applied for as a complainant, although both reports are done by the same police forensic department, a source I talked to on phone on condition of anonymity said.
Stephen Wobweni,a Ugandan business tycoon from Mbale based in South Africa accuse Nandala Mafabi of allegedly forcefully grabbing his land using forged tittle transfer forms, signatures and a driving permit to effect the transfers with the assistance of commissioner land registry Sarah Kulata.
The piece of developed plot in dispute is situated at plot 4,Nakaloke Road,volume 391,FRV 29/5,Folio 21,Mbale Municipality near IUIU,about 500 meters away.
GENESIS:
In December 2011, Wobweni’s businesses both in South Africa and Uganda faced some financial difficulties and needed a financial bailout. He approached his Budadiri –West area Mp Hon.Nathan Nandala Mafabi to borrow him UGX 150M (One Hundred Fifty Million Shs only) to ‘resurrect’ his business empire, to which Nandala Mafabi obliged.
However, Nandala, like most ‘smart’money lenders in Kampala told him that for him to borrow him that big amount of money, he had to deposit his land title with his (Nandala’s) lawyer Ms.Mutembuli & Co.Advocate and write a ‘sales Agreement’ as security/assurance that he would pay back his money though both parties recognize that it was not a sale but security for his money under the gentle man’s Agreement. Wobweni axplained.
According to Wobweni, he accepted the conditions because he knew Nandala as a leader in his community with very high morrow standards and integrity and never doubtable him. “But apart from the integrity part, I was also confortable because I had remained with my transfer forms. I knew no one could change ownership without signed transfer forms by me, even if he had decided to shade off his integrity that I had known and concentrated on amassing wealth through dubious means” Wobweni said. “So,after that transaction of UGX.150M (One hundred and fifty Million) which came in three installments, I indeed went back to South Africa around March 2013 to re-capitalize and boost my business, till June 2016,but kept in close communication with Nandala.
However for some few months communication begun to break down slowly as Nandala would sometimes not pick my calls nor respond positively to my emails, I started getting worried, that’s when I started getting suspicious and decided to return in June 2016” Wobweni explains.
Wobweni’s utter shock and surprise was when he reached at his property and found out that the grave of his dear wife had been dugout, her remains exhumed and taken to unknown destination! Shocked! When he inquired, he was told that it’s Hon.Nandala Mafabi who ordered for the exhumation. To add salt to an injury, the remains of his dear wife were taken to his father in-law (wife’s parents’ home) with whom he had officially married!
ACCUSES LAND COMMISSION OFFICIALS OF ‘CONNIVANCE’
Wobweni was to get more paralyzed upon reaching at the lands offices to check on the status of his land, like he anticipated, he found out that an attempt was being made to use forged transfer forms and driving perming to change ownership of the now disputed land into Nandala’s names. “I have never possessed even a local driving permit in Uganda, but these people purportedly presented an ‘International permit’ in my names and photo at lands that I had left it with them to do transfer!” Wobweni explained.
NANDALA SPEAKS OUT:
In an affidavit sworn by bullet hardened opposition honcho seen by this source, Nandala maintains the UGX.150M was for buying the disputed land and not borrowing as Wobwenyi alleges and that it’s backed by the ‘sales’ Agreement and possession of original land tittles though there are no transfer forms duly signed by the seller as per the law. “I Nathan Nandala of P.O Box 8995,Kampala take oath and solemnly declared that I’m an adult Ugandan Cetizen, of sound mind and with capacity to make this statutory declaration the contents of which are with in my knowledge. I further confirm the purchase of Plot 4, Nakaloke Road, Folio 21,Volume 391, Mbale District from Steven Wabwenyi as a vendor on 28th/ 12/2011 at UGX 150m” confirmed the Mp.
Nandala,in his affidavit rubbishes claims that the UGX 150m given to Steven Wabweni was a loan supposed to be paid back but rather a payment for a sales Agreement of the above plot. “I have never been a money lender in my life,I finished his payment on 15/2/2012 in exchange for the above land mentioned and he signed the transfer forms” Nandala’s affidavit reads in part.
However, Wabweni maintains Nandala forged transfer forms and driving permit to defraud him. He also alleges that the Uganda Land commission officials connived with him (Nandala) to fake minutes that they wrote to him through his lawyer for a meeting to resolve the matter but Wabweni failed to comply, they went ahead and convened a meeting which was only attended by one party (Nandala)where they passed a resolution to lift the caveat and then changed ownership in just 3days.
“Whereas you were effectively served with the invitation for the meeting neither you nor your advocate appeared for the meeting. Nonetheless the meeting proceeded in your absence and a decision was taken. In light of the above, the caveat lodged by you is accordingly rejected and returned to you. You are also informed that the transfer to Nandala Mafabi is accordingly entertained” responded Commissioner Land Registry Sarah Kulata on 28/8/206 to Mr.Wobweni.
