NLA Suspends Proxy Documents in National Land Fraud Crackdown

In a statement issued this week, the NLA said the measure is aimed at preventing individuals from forging documents to sell land they do not own.

“The management of the National Land Authority informs the public that it has temporarily stopped accepting powers of attorney made within the country for land services until the ‘e-notary’ digital system being developed by the Ministry of Justice becomes operational,” the statement said.

The directive allows landowners seeking to transfer ownership to access notaries or other authorized officials near their residences. The agency emphasized that it is no longer necessary for landowners who live far from their property to appoint representatives for land transactions.

The suspension applies only to residents within Rwanda and does not affect Rwandans living abroad.

Rwanda, which covers 26,338 square kilometers, has about 1.8 million hectares of arable land, roughly 73% of the country’s total area, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.

The move follows a series of land fraud cases reported across the country. The Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has previously arrested several suspects accused of using forged powers of attorney to sell land illegally.

In June 2025, RIB detained seven individuals, including a private notary, an Irembo agent, and a land broker, for allegedly fabricating powers of attorney to transfer ownership of land they did not own.

The case surfaced when a buyer applied for a construction permit and discovered that the property he had purchased was no longer registered in his name. He reported the matter to RIB, which launched an investigation and identified the group behind the scheme.

According to investigators, the ringleader posed as a potential land buyer to obtain the property’s unique identifier (UPI). With the assistance of the Irembo agent, he accessed the rightful owner’s information and forged a power of attorney authorizing another individual to act on behalf of the owner.

The forged document was later taken to a private notary, who certified it as authentic, even though the landowner was absent and the required legal documents were incomplete.

The NLA said the suspension will remain in place until the e-notary system is operational. The digital platform is expected to secure notarial services, reduce human error, and prevent the creation of fraudulent powers of attorney in land transactions.