Business man, Jay Thummar Maganlal Patel has been faulted by the High Court in Jinja for obtaining a land title through fraud and forgery of relevant signatures.
According to Justice Jeanne Rwakokooko, Jay Patel was found to have forged the minutes of the Jinja District Land Board as well as the signature of the Board Chairperson, Innocent Ndiko to award himself a freehold land title.
The land in question is located at plot 24 along Kyabazinga Way measuring 5.4 hectares which was in August 2008 subleased by Jinja Municipal Council to Tirupati Development Limited for a period of 18 years.
Jinja Municipal Council had earlier got a 25-year lease from Jinja Land Board.
Tirupati then went through the legal process and paid necessary fees to obtain a title but was pulled a back by claims from Patel that he had been allocated to him earlier by the Land board.
In here ruling, Justice Jeanne Rwakakooko said that the land belongs to Tirupati having obtained a sub-lease from Jinja Municipal Council.
During hearing of the case, Tirupati’s lawyers presented to court a forensic handwriting report in which they noted that the title possessed by Patel was fake and the signature of the land board boss on the minutes had been forged as well.
Justice Rwakakooko found out that not only were the minutes forged but that there was no evidence that any statutory payments had been made by Mr. Patel to grant him a title.
“It is not clear how Patel had acquired the same land on freehold; I therefore find that fraud can be imputed on the part of the defendant (Patel) since he failed to explain to the satisfaction of court how he came to be offered this land and court is inclined to believe that the said minute offering the freehold to the defendant was inserted fraudulently,” Justice Rwakakooko ruled.
The Court thus ordered for the immediate cancellation of the freehold land title possessed by Patel and ordered him to pay Shs10m in general damages to Tirupati.
