We’ve all come across or heard about the distressing experiences faced by the Diaspora Ugandans when attempting to invest home. It’s a harsh reality, and lots of individuals have suffered significant financial losses. The story below, as narrated by one of my followers, prompted me to document it. However, it’s a narrative many of us can identify with, particularly concerning investments in real estate by the Diaspora community.

Hi Alex, Thank you for shedding light on these issues in the real estate industry. The plight of earning your hard-earned money only for it to vanish while attempting to construct in Uganda is not discussed enough.

Please share my story so that many can learn from it. I moved to the UK from Uganda in search of better prospects, but one of the major factors that influenced my decision was the desire to own a home. I had obtained a loan from one of the commercial banks to purchase land, but after making a few payments, I realized that what was left would not be sufficient to build a house, even if I had saved for 5 years.

I hired an Engineer, as recommended by a colleague, and asked the friend to supervise the project on my behalf while I was away. I continued to send money back through my colleague and also kept in direct touch with the Engineer.

Everything seemed to be going well until the fateful day of December 19, 2022. You can imagine my shock when I returned for Christmas expecting to see the first floor completed, only to find an incomplete slab. I then realized that the engineer and my trusted “friend” had been sending me photos from a different site that had a similar structure.

To make matters worse, they had filled the slab with just soil, and the bricks used were of a cheaper, poor-quality version than what was agreed upon. Upon learning of my return, the Engineer switched off his phones, and my colleague claimed he was too busy. I even filed a police report and followed up, but to no avail.

In the end, I had no choice but to start over at my own expense. I lost about UGX 120m, which I had painstakingly saved for two whole years. Currently, I have decided to invest my money in a unit trust until I can travel back and supervise the building myself.

Had I done that earlier, it would have saved me 2 years’ worth of savings. Share this story to save another diaspora brother!

This is a story I have heard all too often from people working abroad as they construct their homes. Beyond the mere theft of money by trusted relatives and friends, the quality of work delivered can be appalling. What makes it worse is that often, people do not have receipts to hold the culprits accountable, hence they simply choose to suffer the loss and move on.

Next week, I will be sharing tips on how to protect yourself against such scams, especially while building from a distance. If you have a similar story, please share it in the Inbox. Don’t suffer in silence!

Happy Investing Everyone

Alex Kakande