Ex-Lira councillor remanded over corruption, land fraud

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Former district councillor and secretary of the production and natural resources committee in Lira Anthony Ojuka has been remanded to Luzira Prison over charges of corruption and conspiracy to defraud.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, afternoon, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working in co-ordination with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) of the Uganda Police Force and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), arraigned Ojuka before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala.

He faces charges relating to an incident in 2023, in which he and others, including the Lira District Land Board chairperson Paul Chankoma, allegedly solicited a shillings 70 million bribe and received shillings five million from Francis Eryao, a land buyer.

The group claimed the land in question, detailed in the Freehold Register LIRI 181, Folio 3, Plot 31 in Lira, had been fraudulently titled and was set for cancellation. They allegedly promised to influence the land board’s decision not to cancel the title.

Ojuka was remanded until May 27, 2025 after he pleaded not guilty to the offenses.

This is not Ojuka’s first appearance in court. In 2023, he was previously arraigned before the Lira Chief Magistrate's Court on charges of fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The earlier case stemmed from a broader investigation into events between February 2019 and September 2020, when Ojuka and others are alleged to have conspired to fraudulently register a freehold title on government land at Plot 17, Ben Emor Road, Ireda Estate in Lira.

Investigators reported that in 2017–2019, the Lira district executive committee passed a controversial resolution, via the district council, to title the land, excluding a portion under the pretext that it had been encroached upon. That excluded portion was allegedly divided among political and technical officials of the district.

State House Anti-Corruption Unit investigators claim Ojuka was among those who benefitted from the illicit division of the land, registering his share under his sister's name, Hilda Atino, who remains a fugitive.

Further investigation revealed that the claim of encroachment was fabricated, and the real intent was to illegally acquire government land.

Although the earlier case was dismissed for lack of prosecution, a source close to the investigation indicated that the matter remains under active review and may be reopened.