By Andrew Irumba
Parliament: City businessman Mohammed Alibhai, a Ugandan of Asian origin is in trouble after he was named in the fraudulent repossession of atleast 45 departed Asians’ properties, many of them in Kampala suburbs.
Alibhai sweat plasma on Tuesday when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) to explain how he acquired the properties under contention.
When he failed to ably explain to COSASE legislators how he acquired the properties, they decided to institute a special taskforce to investigate circumstances under which he took possession of the same.
The taskforce will also investigate circumstances under which two ministers, a diplomat, a permanent secretary and other local tycoons acquired or disposed of huge properties of the departed Asians which had been bought by government after compensation to the owners.
The special inquiry came up after officials from Departed Asians Property Custodian Board (DAPCB) informed COSASE that they had information implicating top government officials and several city businessmen, among them Alibhai, in the illegal repossession of departed Asians’ properties whose owners were compensated by government before they vacated.
Legislators currently investigating the operations of the DAPCB were shocked to learn that the same properties were sold back to government by those who reclaimed them, while others were sold to city businessmen under dubious circumstances.
Legislators also learnt that individuals involved in the illegal sale of these disputed properties either forged powers of attorneys, forged land titles or bribed officials in government at that time to allow them buy the properties, among them Alibhai.
However, when our Spy contacted Alibhai’s son Ali Alibhai, he disregarded the allegations against his father as “fake news.”
But our Spy in COSASE contends that the legislators have a list of 45 properties that Alibhai fraudulently repossessed and here are some of them;
