The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) says the land fraud cases they have investigated in Lira City are just the tip of the iceberg and that they are coming back for other politicians and technocrats accused of the same. 

The deputy head of the unit, Israel Ochwo, says most of the land fraud cases are perpetrated by politicians and technocrats of Lira District and Lira City. 

While addressing a press conference at Lira Hotel on Friday, December 12, 2024, Ochwo said, “With these politicians and the technocrats, what you have seen is just the tip of the iceberg.” 

“We are coming back, we have many other cases against other politicians and technocrats of the district where they have shared these lands.” 

Ochwo says though they are thin on the ground, they have so far charged 542 people in court across the country since December 2018 when the unit came into force. He says out of these, 292 are civil servants, 251 are private individuals, and 42 are members of security forces. 

He disclosed that 126 cases are still pending in court, 98 persons have been convicted and shillings 51 billion recovered 

Lira cases unique 

Ochwo says they started investigating land cases in Lira City and the district in March 2022. 

They got so much interested in Lira because the politicians and technocrats were facilitating land grabbing. “This is the kind of impunity that we can’t tolerate, that a few people given public office in trust abuse that office by taking what belongs to the people. They fraudulently get the land, register it in the names of their relatives, and sell it to businessmen,” he says.

He explains that they were prompted to act after the Police arrested a district official ferrying vital land files in his vehicle in the dead of the night to an unknown destination. 

They were forced to carry the files to Kampala because of the conflict between Lira district and the City that had just been created. They found out that most of the files were the subject of the investigation. 

He observes that despite directives from the Attorney General and the local government minister, Lira District continued to carry out irregular land transactions within the jurisdiction of the city 

Ochwo disclosed that they have so far charged 22 people in court, obtained four convictions and some of the people involved pleaded guilty. 

He says several other people have not been taken to court and they are reporting to the unit, willing to surrender the Land titles they unscrupulously obtained. 

“We have been gracious to the people and extended amnesty to them,” Ochwo says. 

They advised those with fraudulent titles to take them to the Ministry of Lands which is responsible for initiating the cancellation process of the titles. 

Ochwo says some people are accusing them of being selective in their investigations, but rather, they are moving in a phased manner where if they finish a case, they present the file to the DPP. 

On claims that some lands were sold as a resolution of the council, Ochwo says the council cannot pass an illegal resolution, sit back and allow it to stand 

SHACU commended  

Lira Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Lawrence Egole says the anti-corruption unit has done a tremendous job in the recent past in bringing sanity to service delivery in civil service by fighting corruption 

“By fighting corruption, the unit is trying to bring the confidence of the people in government because the people think it's the government which is corrupt, yet it is individuals who are corrupt,” Egole observes. 

He called on leaders in the country to join hands in the fight against corruption because it is through a joint effort that the vice can end. 

He regrets that some leaders are encouraging corruption by supporting the corrupt people. He cautions that if such leaders are not stopped, it is threatening the moral fabric of this nation 

Ochwo applauded the media saying they are playing a very crucial role in the fight against corruption. 

“The corrupt fear the cameras more than being taken to court,” he said. 

Detective SP Mohammed Sowede, the head of investigation at the unit, says most of the cases in Lira are in court and it would be sub judice to talk about them. 

He urges those who have other facts that can be of help to the unit to present them.

“As per the facts we have right now, they speak for themselves. All our cases have sufficient evidence,” he says.