What began as a simple act of trust has turned into a legal nightmare for Immaculate K. Mutumba, a Ugandan woman living in the United States. She now finds herself fighting to reclaim her land back home land she says was stolen from her by the very lawyers she trusted most.
A damning forensic report from Uganda’s Directorate of Forensic Services has confirmed her worst fears: her signature was forged, and key legal documents were manipulated to fraudulently transfer ownership of her land.
The report, signed by forensic handwriting expert Chelangat Sylvia, concludes that multiple documents bearing Mutumba’s signature including land sale agreements and company board resolutions were not authored by her. Instead, they were likely fabricated, possibly with the help of advanced digital tools.
“It’s not just about land,” Mutumba said from her home in Indianapolis. “It’s about betrayal. I trusted them like family.”
Mutumba, who had entrusted Ugandan lawyers Samuel Ocitti and Abdul Swabur Marzug with managing her property in Lubowa Estate, says she believed they were helping her collect rent from stubborn tenants. She says they even borrowed money from her in the past further cementing her confidence in them.
But what she thought were management documents turned out to be tools of deception.
“They asked me to sign papers and even make videos, saying there was a change in management,” she recalled. “I had no idea they were laying the groundwork to steal my land.”
According to land registry records, lawyer Abdul Swabur Marzug transferred the property into his name on June 2, 2022. The transfer was done under Instrument Number WKY-00307364. Mutumba says she never approved the sale and that the signatures on the paperwork are forgeries.
The forensic report backs her up. It found significant differences between her genuine signatures and those on the contested documents
including variations in slant, stroke, and overall style.
To make matters worse, further transactions were made involving another law firm, Nalukoola, Kakeeto Advocates deals Mutumba claims were done without her knowledge or consent.
Now, she’s fighting back. She has filed a formal complaint with the Law Council, placed a caveat on the land, and is demanding that those responsible be held accountable.
“This is a wake-up call for anyone in the diaspora who owns land back home,” said a Kampala-based legal analyst. “If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.”
The Uganda Law Society has yet to issue a statement on the case, and the lawyers implicated have remained unreachable for comment.
For Mutumba, the road to justice is long and uncertain. But one thing is clear: she is not backing down.
“This land was for my children,” she said. “I won’t stop until it’s back in our hands.”
