140 surveyors, district land boards face investigations

State House has ordered for an investigation into 140 surveyors and district senior officials from area and district land boards. 

The investigation is being conducted by the newly formed Land Police Protection Unit (LPPU) under Commissioner of Police James Kusemererwa. 

The group under investigation is suspected of facilitating fraudulent land transactions, manipulating boundaries and aiding the issuance of illegal titles across the country, contributing to the rising land conflicts. 

This comes hardly a month after President Yoweri Museveni ordered the immediate arrest of businessman Patrick Ainebyona, who had evicted a farmer, Badiru Mwanje, from land he had occupied for over 30 years in Kiboga district. 

Ainebyona was arrested along with those who had trespassed on the land under the guise of representing departed Asians. 

The President not only ordered Mwanje to reoccupy the disputed 640 acres, but also directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) to investigate the case. 

“It was a personal operation — a reaction to the increasingly violent land evictions that had reached his desk. His message was unequivocal: Clean up the rot,” said a source, who also revealed that that message has now morphed into policy. 

New Vision has exclusively learnt that State House has instructed the new leadership of the LPPU to focus its investigations on the bedrock of land transactions — surveyors, area land committees, and district land boards — accused of enabling land theft through systemic corruption, negligence and manipulation. 

Assistant Commissioner of Police Susanne Kasingye, the special presidential assistant on Police affairs, told New Vision that the decision to restructure the LPPU and redirect its focus was long overdue. 

“Matters of land conflict are by nature complex, lengthy and delicate. They are a contestation over ownership, and the question of ownership can best be solved by interpreting laws, policies and judgments of court. Therefore, placing the responsibility of investigating land conflicts under the directorate of legal services was long overdue,” she said. 

Kasingye was referring to the operational changes unveiled on Monday by the Inspector General of Police, Abas Byakagaba, who announced a realignment of the LPPU, transferring it from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to the Directorate of Human Rights and Legal Services. 

The decision, Byakagaba said, is meant to streamline land-related investigations that involve both civil and criminal elements. Kusemererwa now heads the revamped unit, deputised by Assistant Commissioner of Police Musani Sabila, the former Kampala Metropolitan East Police commander. 

The unit will operate under the supervision of Assistant Inspector General of Police Charles Kataratambi. With this new development, the CID will focus on high-profile cases. 

CID will now only take up referral cases which cannot be handled elsewhere. This will expedite the process of resolving the rampant land-related conflicts around the country.

Why the probe? 

“Surveyors deliberately plot inaccurate co-ordinates for people’s land, placing them over other already existing titles and feeding registrars with wrong information, which results in an endless chain of litigation,” Kasingye said. 

“I have encountered cases of gross maladministration, where the same surveyor, who maps a plot in the field, is also the one who approves the file at headquarters. He, therefore, forwards the file to himself for approval,” she added. 

Beyond surveyors, the area and district land boards, tasked with vetting land applications and issuing minutes, are now under scrutiny for corruption. 

Kasingye described a disturbing trend: “They are issuing minutes for a fee. These officials are being bribed to facilitate land transfers. Later, when challenged, they deny ever having sat or signed those minutes.” 

Court complicity has also emerged as a concern. Kasingye condemned the issuance of court orders that maintain the “status quo” even when the land in question has been grabbed through coercion or fraud. 

“That kind of order only aids the aggressor. It gives quiet possession to those who used criminal means to displace legitimate owners,” she said, adding, “We cannot talk of socio-economic development when the people’s primary and most important factor of production is threatened or unsecured.”

Mayanja writes to State House 

Last year, lands state minister Sam Mayanja asked SHACU to probe over 100 district and city land boards for failure to publish annual reports. 

In his letter, dated April 26, 2024, Mayanja told the head of SHACU, Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke, that a situation where out of 126 districts, 110 had not submitted even a single report was unacceptable. 

“Land is the greatest asset that the citizens of Uganda have. They deserve to demand accountability and respect of law by those put in charge of the administration of this vital asset,” Mayanja told Isoke. 

Mayanja later told New Vision in an interview that there had been several abuses of both law and process orchestrated by land management institutions, especially district land boards. 

He said these abuses include double allocations, which result in double titling and plotting, irregular automatic re-entries on expired leases, infringement and illegal allocation of wetlands, forests and other eco-sensitive areas, as well as irregular allocation of open spaces and road reserves. 

“In addition, most district land boards have been very poor at record keeping and at times they do not share their records with the lands ministry, including board minutes and reports.”

Rot exposed 

Leaked annual reports of several district land boards for 2022 exposed fresh rot involving corruption, title forgeries, multiple court cases arising from previous transactions, as well as poor storage and record-keeping. 

These boards include Tororo, Mukono, Mbarara, Kayunga, Masaka, Mubende, Kibale, Nakaseke, Koboko, Lamwo, Yumbe, Kitagwenda, Lyantonde, Iganga and Manafwa. 

In one of the suspected fraudulent transactions, the board in Tororo approved the application for a conversion for land comprised in LRV 640, folio 10 on Plot 1-3 Tagore Road. 

In this case, one individual had applied for a conversion for the whole plot, yet it is owned by four people (name withheld). 

The contention on this land forced the Tororo district land board secretary, Sabana Samali Epiat, to write to the registrar of the ministry’s zonal office, halting the process to enable a proper subdivision for all four parties. She asked the board to defer the earlier decision of the conversion for this plot located in Tororo municipal council to enable others to do the subdivision. 

The report Epiat signed with Cornelius Owor, the district chairperson, also said non-remuneration of area land committees had discouraged some of them from working and/or caused some to charge exorbitant fees, which sources say are not receipted. 

In Mbarara city, Francis Barabanawe, the board chairperson, said there were fraudsters in their land office, but most of them had been detected at the physical planning and land board level. 

Barabanawe said the board had “instituted a number of safeguards that prevent fraudulent transactions” that include ensuring that the chairpersons of the area land committees verify applications before they are considered by the board, carrying out inspections for doubtful applications and carrying out extra meeting to verify survey of reports as provided in the Land Act.

Surveyors speak out 

Bashir Juma Kizito, the deputy CEO of Buganda Land Board, said together with the Institution of Surveyors of Uganda, they have implemented solutions aimed at making land surveying more accessible, affordable and fraud-resistant. These include sensitisation campaigns, streamlined registration processes and legal education initiatives.

Over sh400b lost 

The deputy criminal investigations director, Beata Chelimo, said Uganda recorded a loss of sh474.6b to fraudulent land transactions last year.

A total of 6,067 case files have been submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice, with 918 cases leading to convictions. 

However, 52 cases have been acquitted, and 369 dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Digital age 

Lands minister Judith Nabakooba emphasised the significance of digital transformation in land governance. “With this digital system, Ugandans can now be assured of the security and authenticity of their land titles,” she said. 

Nabakooba said the lands ministry has established 22 self-contained ministry zonal offices nationwide, improving service delivery, reducing corruption, consolidating revenue, and strengthening land tenure security.