The bitter dispute over the multi-billion-shilling estate of businessman Hajj Mohammed Majid Baagalaliwo has taken a dramatic turn, with police summoning his wife, Hajjat Sarah Nanziri Baagalaliwo, and several of her daughters for questioning over allegations of fraud and manipulation of estate and company records.
The development follows the emergence of a forensic handwriting report which, according to documents reviewed in the dispute, questions signatures attributed to the ailing businessman in documents used in connection with the Baagalaliwo Foundation.
The allegations have opened another chapter in a long-running family battle over the control and ownership of properties, company shares and other assets associated with Baagalaliwo, who has been incapacitated after falling into a coma.
At the centre of the dispute is the Baagalaliwo Foundation, a charitable organisation registered by Hajjat Nanziri.
She has reportedly maintained that her husband instructed her to incorporate parts of his estate into the foundation, including property associated with his late mother, Hajjat Mulasi Nakakawa, in Kisugu, Makindye Division, as well as assets that had allegedly been donated to relatives and members of the Muslim community in Iganga.
The claims, however, have been challenged by beneficiaries of the disputed properties, who questioned whether Baagalaliwo personally authorised the transactions and documents attributed to him.
The beneficiaries subsequently sought forensic examination of signatures said to belong to the businessman.
Forensic report raises questions
A handwriting examination attributed to police forensic expert Erisa Ssebuwuufu reportedly concluded that the questioned signatures were not genuine.
According to the report cited by the complainants, the signatures examined did not originate from Hajj Baagalaliwo.
The findings have become a key element in the dispute because of the businessman’s medical condition at the time some of the disputed documents were allegedly executed.
Hospital records cited by the complainants reportedly show that by April 2023, when the disputed entity was registered, Baagalaliwo had already been in a coma for about two months.
The beneficiaries argue that his medical condition made it impossible for him to personally communicate instructions or execute documents in the manner alleged.
The report and medical records are now part of material being relied upon by those challenging the administration of the estate.
However, the allegations remain subject to investigation and, where applicable, determination by the courts.
Police summon Nanziri
The latest development is a police summons issued to Hajjat Nanziri in connection with allegations surrounding the management of her husband’s estate.
According to information emerging from the dispute, Nanziri was directed to report to the Kampala Metropolitan East Criminal Investigations Department for interrogation.
She is a lawyer and a founding member of the Federation of Women Lawyers-Uganda (FIDA-Uganda), and is also related to the late former Attorney General and presidential candidate Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa.
Sources close to the matter say investigators want to question her about several transactions and documents that have become the subject of complaints. Nanziri and her legal representatives have, however, disputed the allegations.
Her daughter, Adilan Naseem Nalulyo Baagalaliwo, has also reportedly been named among those police want to question.
Nalulyo is a corporate manager at Stanbic Bank and a lecturer at Uganda Technology and Management University (UTAMU).
The widening investigation has reportedly extended to other daughters of Nanziri, including twin sisters, over claims that they may have participated in or benefited from transactions being challenged by other members of the family.
Police have reportedly given the targeted family members until September 18, 2026, to voluntarily report to the Kampala Metropolitan East CIID station. Their lawyers are expected to accompany them during the process.
Lawyers challenge criminal probe
The criminal investigation has also triggered a legal confrontation. The family’s newly retained lawyers, Nabweteme, Nakamatte & Co Advocates, reportedly wrote to investigators questioning the continuation of criminal proceedings while civil cases concerning the estate remain before court.
The lawyers are understood to have argued that the existence of civil litigation should affect the criminal investigations arising from the same dispute.
However, the complainants have challenged that position, citing previous Ugandan judicial decisions concerning the relationship between civil disputes and criminal investigations.
One case cited in the dispute involves former land commissioner Sarah Kulata Basangwa.
According to the legal position relied upon by the complainants, the existence of a civil suit does not automatically prevent the State from investigating or prosecuting alleged criminal offences arising from the same facts.
The distinction is important because ownership disputes may be resolved through civil proceedings, while allegations such as forgery, uttering false documents or fraudulent alteration of official records may independently attract criminal investigation.
Whether any individual ultimately faces criminal charges will depend on the evidence gathered by investigators and decisions by the relevant prosecutorial authorities.
ADR proposal rejected
The estate dispute has also reached the Family Division of the High Court, where alternative dispute resolution was reportedly recommended as a possible way of resolving the family disagreement.
The proposed mediation was intended to preserve family relationships and protect the legacy of Baagalaliwo while avoiding prolonged litigation.
However, according to people familiar with the proceedings, the effort did not produce a settlement.
The disagreement has since continued to generate complaints involving property, company shares and other assets.
Shareholding dispute
Another major front in the battle concerns Natural Foods Industries Limited, a family-linked company associated with Baagalaliwo.
The company dispute came into the spotlight after Neema Baagalaliwo, the businessman’s eldest daughter, petitioned the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) over what she described as irregular alterations to the company’s shareholding records.
Neema, accompanied by her lawyer, Senior Counsel Festo Julius Kavuma Kabenge, reportedly appeared before an Assistant Registrar, Daniel Nasasira, to explain her complaint.
She alleged that shares which her father had given her when the family company was established in March 1979 were subsequently removed from the company register.
She further alleged that the shares were redistributed to one of her stepmother’s daughters.
The dispute also allegedly affected her brother, Hajj Bashir Balozi Baagalaliwo.
According to Neema’s account, Balozi’s shares were similarly removed from the company’s records.
She further alleged that her brother’s signature was used in documents connected to the disputed changes.
Balozi has reportedly lodged a complaint at Jinja Road Police Station alleging forgery and uttering of false documents.
Nanziri disputes allegations
Hajjat Nanziri has denied the allegations surrounding the shareholding changes.
In her response to the URSB complaint, she reportedly attributed the discrepancies to the digitisation and updating of the company’s records.
She argued that the process was handled by lawyers and URSB officials and that she was not personally responsible for the alleged alterations.
Nanziri also reportedly maintained that her daughters received shares from their father, just as Neema and Balozi had received theirs.
The URSB proceedings did not conclusively determine who initiated the alleged changes.
In his ruling, Assistant Registrar Nasasira reportedly acknowledged that Neema had lost her shares but said the available evidence did not establish who was responsible for the alterations.
Given the seriousness of the allegations and the level of proof required, Nasasira advised Neema to pursue the matter before the High Court, which has jurisdiction to adjudicate the wider dispute.
Land transactions under scrutiny
The third major area of contention involves land allegedly belonging to Baagalaliwo.
One disputed transaction concerns approximately two acres along Lake Drive Road in Luzira, Nakawa Division, Kampala.
According to the allegations, the property was sold by Hajjat Nanziri to a prominent lawyer based in Kololo.
Following the transaction, the property’s title was reportedly changed from Kyaddondo Plot 888 to Kyaddondo Plot 888B.
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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