Ugandan court voids Centenary and Absa mortgages on Wakiso school land
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The High Court's Commercial Division has nullified two bank mortgages over 12.35 acres in Kyambala, Wakiso district, ruling that land housing Ndejje Quality School, a mosque and a cemetery was fraudulently transferred.
The High Court's Commercial Division has nullified mortgages held by Centenary Rural Development Bank and Absa Bank Uganda over land housing Ndejje Quality School, a community mosque and a Muslim cemetery in Kyambala, Wakiso district, after finding that the property was fraudulently transferred to a company that used it as security for loans. In a judgment dated 30 October 2026, Justice Anna Mugenyi ruled that the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council was the rightful owner of the land, formerly comprised in Kyadondo Block 271 Plot 61, measuring about five hectares or 12.35 acres.
The judge found that Habibu Muweesi and Mirembe Executive Group of Companies Limited fraudulently transferred the land into the company's name using forged documents before subdividing it and mortgaging parts to the two banks. The dispute involved two consolidated suits filed by Ndejje Quality Education Services Limited, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council and Absa Bank, with Centenary Bank also filing a counterclaim.
Court records show the land was originally donated by the late Ismail Kizito family to the Muslim community, but when titles were issued the plot numbers were interchanged, leaving the community registered on Plot 20 and the Kizito family on Plot 61. In 2010 the High Court Land Division ordered the parties to exchange the titles, after which the administrators of the Kizito estate signed transfer forms in favour of the council and surrendered the duplicate certificate of title for Plot 61. The court found that although the council did not complete registration of the transfer, it had acquired an equitable and beneficial interest in the land, and in April 2017 it leased 2.5 acres to Ndejje Quality Education Services for 20 years.
The court found that on 21 June 2018 Plot 61 was fraudulently transferred to Mirembe Executive Group using a document bearing forged signatures of the administrators of the Kizito estate. A forensic document examiner attached to the Uganda Police concluded the signatures were fundamentally different from the genuine ones, and the judge noted that Muweesi's account to police contradicted his defence that the administrators had sold him the land for Shs150 million. The disputed transfer document also did not contain consideration, was undated and had incomplete attestation.
Centenary Bank had advanced Muweesi a Shs300 million corporate loan in March 2020 secured by Plot 1170, where the school and mosque stand, while Absa had advanced the company a Shs230 million short-term facility in September 2019 secured by Plot 1169. Both banks moved to recover after the borrower defaulted. The court found Centenary had failed to establish that it took the mortgage in good faith without notice of the occupants' interests, noting that its valuer inspected the property in December 2019 and found an operational school with classrooms, dormitories, staff quarters and a perimeter wall, and that its business banker visited and saw the school and mosque but did not inquire about the basis of their occupation.
On Absa's mortgage the judge found no evidence that the bank participated in or knew of the fraud, but established that Absa had not produced a registered mortgage deed and that the certificate of title contained no mortgage entry, so any charge could not prevail over the council's earlier equitable interest. The court ordered the cancellation of the company's registration over Plots 1170 and 1169 and directed the Commissioner for Land Registration to register the council as proprietor, covering other plots created from Plot 61 that remain in the company's name but excluding land already transferred to third parties not party to the case. The banks were ordered to surrender duplicate certificates of title within 30 days, a permanent injunction was issued against dealing with the plots, and the court awarded Shs40 million in general damages to the council and Shs30 million to Ndejje Quality Education Services, payable jointly and severally by Muweesi and the company.