Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court has convicted Moses Mugalya on three counts of forgery, uttering false documents, and defrauding an NBS TV journalist of Shs 55 million in a land transaction matter.Chief magistrate Neumbe Ritah Kidasa delivered the judgment on Friday after finding that the prosecution had proved all three charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.Mugalya also known as Musajjawaza Achileo Migadde was accused of defrauding journalist Jamila Mulindwa Namuyiga of Shs 55 million in April 2022 by falsely presenting himself as the rightful owner of two plots of land in Kiwale, Nakwero, Wakiso district.According to court records, Mugalya impersonated the registered proprietor of one of the plots and falsely claimed to have purchased the second plot from its rightful owner, Fred Kalule.The two plots are identified as Kyadondo Block 167, Plots 9462 and 9463. Court heard that Namuyiga had been searching for land on behalf of her mother when she was introduced to the convict through a broker, Brian Wasswa. On March 20, 2022, she and her family visited the land, where Mugalya introduced himself as Achileo Migadde Musajjawaza and claimed ownership of both plots.After conducting a land search, the prospective buyer established that Plot 9462 was registered in the name of Musajjawaza Achileo Migadde, while Plot 9463 belonged to Kalule Fred. The convict reportedly explained that he had purchased the second plot but had not yet transferred it into his name. He also provided a telephone contact for a person he identified as Kalule, who allegedly confirmed the transaction.On April 6, 2022, the parties met at Twed Towers in Kampala, where the accused presented duplicate certificates of title, transfer forms, a sale agreement and a national identity card bearing the name Musajjawaza Achileo Migadde.They agreed on a purchase price of Shs 55 million. Namuyiga paid Shs 48 million on the same day, and the accused acknowledged receipt in writing, before paying the remaining Shs 7 million the following day at Kyebando.However, the transaction collapsed when the documents were presented to the ministry of Lands for transfer, where officials discovered that both land titles were forged.The court heard that the accused subsequently switched off his telephone lines, while the complainant never recovered her money. A senior registrar of titles at the Kyaddondo Zonal Office, Yusuf Kakere, testified that the disputed titles contained forged signatures of senior land registry officials and bore an incorrect official seal.He further told the court that the signatures, passport photographs and identity documents accompanying the transaction did not match the genuine records held by the Lands Office.Fred Kalule, the registered proprietor of Plot 9463, also testified that he had never met the accused and had never sold the land to him. He produced the genuine certificates of title for both plots.In her judgment, magistrate Kidasa rejected the accused’s defence that the matter was essentially a civil dispute arising from a failed land transaction. She observed that the accused had made false representations about his identity and ownership of the land, which were existing facts rather than promises about future performance of a contract.The magistrate also noted that the accused admitted during cross-examination that he signed the sale agreement, provided his identity card to the complainant, and presented himself as the owner of the land. On the forgery charge, the court found that although there was no direct evidence showing who physically produced the forged titles, the circumstantial evidence demonstrated the accused’s participation in the fraudulent scheme.The court particularly pointed to the identity card and land transfer documents bearing the accused’s photograph but using the identity of the registered proprietor. It then arrived at a conclusion that the accused knowingly presented the forged titles as genuine documents to induce the complainant to pay for the land.Mugalya had denied all three charges when he took a plea on May 19, 2022. He gave sworn evidence in his defence but did not call any witnesses to defend him.His lawyer, Samuel Munobe, had challenged the validity of some of the charges, arguing that they were defective and that the transaction amounted to a civil dispute.However, the magistrate dismissed the objections and ruled that the charges sufficiently disclosed the offences and did not occasion any miscarriage of justice.Mugalya has now been convicted of obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 305 of the Penal Code Act, forgery contrary to Sections 342 and 348, and uttering a false document contrary to Section 351.The court is expected to proceed to allocutus on Monday next week, during which the convict will be given an opportunity to make submissions in mitigation before he can be sentenced. The post Man who defrauded NBS journalist of Shs 55m in a bogus land deal convicted appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.