UGANDA, Lira | Real Muloodi News | The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) has arraigned the former Deputy Town Clerk of Lira City, Patrick Ogweng, before the Anti-Corruption Court.
Mr Ogweng, who is now the Town Clerk of Nebbi Town Council, has been charged with Abuse of Office, Forgery and Conspiracy to Defraud.
According to the charges, Mr Ogweng and others at large are accused of conniving and forging minutes purportedly made by the Physical Planning Committee to process a land title on part of Mayor’s Gardens Lira in the names of Patrick Olet.
Lira City and District have been under scrutiny for the illegal and fraudulent sale of public land, with allegations that most of the public land has been sold through collusion between civil servants, politicians, and land brokers.
Last year, the acting secretary for Lira District Land Board, Pastor Francis Okello Olwa, was implicated in illegally processing a land title for Mayor’s Gardens. The land in question was allegedly illegally allocated to private developers in Lira town, including Bishop Tom Ibrahim.
Olwa, who is also a senior pastor at Truth Fountain West in Lira City, was arrested in April 2022 while carrying land-related documents in his car at night. He was later released on police bond, pending further investigation.
Following the incident, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, suspended the district land board, including Okello Olwa and Paul Cankoma (chairperson) and four others. However, the district Chairperson, Richard Coxson Okello Orik, refused to comply with the directive, stating that he had not witnessed any criminal activity by the board.
In response, a team from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit stormed the district and re-arrested Okello Olwa, taking him to Kampala for further questioning.
Samuel Arinatwe, an investigating officer in the case, stated that the suspect had concealed key documents related to fraudulent land transactions, but they are still being traced. The authorities managed to recover one document, but several others are still missing.
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