Mbah Tupon Performs Prostration of Gratitude Upon Receiving His Land Certificate Back
Tupon Hadi Suwarno, known as Mbah Tupon (69), immediately performed a prostration of gratitude upon receiving back the certificate for his land, which had mysteriously disappeared due to the actions of land mafia.
The illiterate elderly man from Kasihan, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), performed the prostration together with his wife, Amdiyahwati (63). The couple then wept with emotion.
The moment of returning the land certificate was packaged ceremonially and held on the front terrace of Mbah Tupon’s residence, Dusun Ngentak RT 04, Bangunjiwo, Kasihan, Bantul, DIY, on Thursday (9/4).
The event was attended by officials from the Bantul Regency Government, the Bantul District Prosecutor’s Office, and the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) of Bantul Regency, along with local community leaders.
“Thank you to everyone who has helped us from beginning to end; I cannot repay anything, the Almighty will repay. I thank you for the accompaniment,” said Mbah Tupon after affixing his fingerprint to the handover minutes from the prosecutor’s side.
Mbah Tupon admitted he was happy that his asset could be returned after a year of being the object of dispute. He would keep his certificate safe.
“That year felt hot, anxious; now it’s calm, peaceful, I can sleep soundly, the family is safe,” said the farmer.
The Head of the Bantul District Prosecutor’s Office, Kristanti Yuni Purnawanti, stated that the handover of the land certificate was carried out on the orders of the Panel of Judges of the Bantul District Court after all cases—involving assets in the form of 1,655 square metres of land and 292 square metres as disputed objects—were declared final and binding.
Kristanti said that a total of five cases, particularly regarding the misappropriation of Mbah Tupon’s land certificate, had entered the trial bench since last year and involved seven defendants. One case had to go to the cassation level, and the decision was read on 11 March 2026.
“So all decisions have the force of law remaining, so we as public prosecutors must immediately execute those decisions, one of which is returning the evidence in the form of land as in certificates 2451 and 2452 Bangunjiwo […] returned to the rightful owner, namely witness Tupon Hadi Suwarno,” said Kristanti.
Certificate 2451 had previously been illegally transferred to the ownership of Indah Fatmawati, who has been convicted. The Prosecutor’s Office ensured that this certificate could later be returned to the original owner’s name, namely Mbah Tupon.
The Head of Control and Dispute Resolution of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Bantul, Yuni Andriyastuti, detailed that to return the certificate status to its original state, Mbah Tupon must first apply for cancellation of the transfer. This is to annul the change in ownership status of the certificate from his name to Indah Fatmawati.
The cancellation is submitted to the Regional Office of Land Affairs based on administrative defects supported by the decision of the Panel of Judges of the Bantul Court in the related case.
“We will carry out the stages with examination. Then case deliberation, then final deliberation, then issuance of the Regional Office Decree regarding the cancellation of the transfer,” she explained.
“After the decree is issued, it is then registered at the land office to cancel the one in Indah’s name to Mbah Tupon’s name based on that Regional Head’s decree. Then after that, the certificate returns to Mbah Tupon’s name,” she said.
Mbah Tupon is an illiterate elderly resident of Dusun Ngentak RT 04, Bangunjiwo, Kasihan, Bantul, DIY, who was once threatened with losing his assets in the form of 1,655 square metres of land and two houses on it, allegedly due to land mafia actions. The case itself emerged in April 2025.
His assets were threatened with auction after his land certificate was suspiciously changed in ownership status. The Bantul Regency Government has provided legal assistance for this case, while the Yogyakarta Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN) blocked Mbah Tupon’s land certificate that had changed names to maintain the status quo.
The Yogyakarta Police simultaneously secured seven people involved in the case. One of them was Rustamta alias BR (60), former head of Bangunjiwo Village, Kasihan, Bantul, as well as a member of the Bantul DPRD for the 2014-2019 and 2019-2024 periods. The case went to trial on 8 September 2025.