KAMPALA, Uganda — A son of the late Ugandan businessman James Musinguzi Garuga has petitioned the Law Council to investigate and discipline three lawyers over allegations of fraud, forgery, professional misconduct and unlawful dealings involving assets from the businessman’s multi-billion-shilling estate.
In a complaint dated January 22, 2026, Alwyn Carl Garuga asked the Law Council, the body responsible for regulating lawyers in Uganda, to investigate city lawyer Agaba Maguru, advocate Ferdinand Byamugisha and lawyer Mugabe R. Ruranga over their alleged roles in a series of disputed transactions involving land, livestock and company funds linked to the deceased businessman from Rugyeyo Kanungu.
The petition marks the latest development in a widening legal battle over the estate of James Musinguzi Garuga, a prominent western Uganda businessman who died on August 6, 2025, leaving behind a vast portfolio of ranches, landholdings and corporate interests.
In the complaint, Alwyn Garuga alleges that Maguru, who served as company secretary in several companies associated with the businessman, embezzled hundreds of millions of shillings belonging to Garuga Properties Limited and unlawfully interfered with estate assets following Garuga’s death.
According to the petition, a payment of 800 million Ugandan shillings made to Garuga Properties Limited in September 2025 as government compensation related to ranch property was allegedly diverted without lawful authority.
The complainant further alleges that estate revenues and company funds have continued to be misappropriated, placing the interests of beneficiaries at risk.
Maguru has not publicly responded to the allegations contained in the complaint.
This website was unable to reach him for a comment by press time.
The petition also accuses Maguru of unlawfully disposing of estate property, including the alleged sale of 80 Boran cattle and the unauthorized harvesting of trees from ranch land in Nakasongola District for charcoal production.
At the centre of the dispute is a contested transaction involving approximately 849 hectares of land in Nakaseke District registered under Incafex Limited, a company in which the late businessman held substantial interests.
According to the complaint, the land was transferred in July 2025 to Charles Byaruhanga under circumstances the complainant describes as fraudulent and unlawful.
The petition alleges that sale agreements and transfer documents were backdated and that signatures attributed to the late businessman were forged while he was seriously ill and bedridden.
Among the allegations raised are the absence of company resolutions approving the transaction, lack of shareholder consent, execution of transfer documents without a company seal, alleged undervaluation of the property and misrepresentation of land ownership details.
The complaint further alleges that advocate Ferdinand Byamugisha improperly witnessed and commissioned documents connected to the transaction despite apparent irregularities.
Another disputed transaction involves land located on Koome Island in Mukono District.
According to the petition, the property was allegedly transferred to a private individual before being leased to a foreign-owned company under circumstances that the complainant says reveal evidence of forgery and procedural irregularities.
The complaint alleges that documents were executed using forged signatures of the deceased and that critical legal requirements, including proof of payment and stamp duty obligations, were not properly fulfilled.
The petition also names lawyer Mugabe R. Ruranga, alleging that he failed to exercise due diligence while participating in the transaction and that potential conflicts of interest existed because of his links to parties involved in the deal.
The complainant is asking the Law Council’s disciplinary committee to investigate the lawyers, order restitution of proceeds arising from any unlawful disposal of estate assets and, if misconduct is established, suspend or remove Maguru from the Roll of Advocates.
The allegations emerge amid a broader struggle over control of Garuga’s business empire, which has triggered multiple court cases involving family members, shareholders and former company officials.
Several of the disputes are currently before Ugandan courts, including cases challenging the legality of land transfers, company filings and management decisions made after the businessman’s death.
Court records show that some of the contested properties are also subject to ongoing litigation and injunctions issued in separate proceedings.
The Law Council had not publicly commented on the complaint at the time of publication.
The lawyers named in the petition could not immediately be reached for comment.
As the legal battles intensify, the complaint is expected to increase scrutiny over the management of one of Uganda’s most contested estates and could potentially lead to disciplinary proceedings against some of the Kampala legal practitioners if the allegations are substantiated.
