Ex–Lira lands officer jailed five years over Uganda Railways land fraud

KAMPALA - A former senior officer at the Ministry of Lands Zonal Office (MZO) in Lira district has been handed a five-year jail term for his role in a sophisticated land fraud scheme involving property belonging to the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC). 

The sentence, delivered by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala, marks one of the toughest recent crackdowns on public officers implicated in the rampant abuse of office within Uganda’s land administration system.

Francis Ateng, 53, who had served in public service for 23 years and was seven years away from retirement, was convicted last month on multiple counts, including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, forgery, uttering false documents and conspiracy to commit a felony. 

Chief Magistrate Racheal Nakyazze presided over both the trial and the sentencing at the Anti-Corruption Division of the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates' Court.

A case that reached the President’s desk

Prosecution, led by senior state attorney Viola Tusingwire, told the court that the fraud was so significant that it required the intervention of the President to stop it. She argued that Ateng had brazenly betrayed his duty as a custodian of public land by aiding the illegal processing of land titles on URC property.

Tusingwire submitted that although Ateng had no known previous criminal record and should be treated as a first-time offender, the gravity of the offences warranted a punitive custodial sentence.

She emphasised that land fraud in Uganda has become rampant, and that stiff penalties were necessary to deter public officers from colluding in illegal land transactions.

The State also reminded court that a co-accused, Joseph Ocen, who pleaded guilty and entered a plea bargain, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after deducting the remand period.

Defence pleads for leniency

Ateng’s lawyers, Evans Ocheing and Derrick Ruzima, asked the court for leniency, arguing that their client was a family man with two wives, seven biological children and several dependents from his extended family.

They said Ateng had faithfully served the Government for over two decades and had never faced any disciplinary or criminal charges, making him a suitable candidate for a lighter sentence focused on rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

They further argued that imprisonment would severely affect his large household, most of whom depended entirely on his government salary of shillings 977,316 net per month.

Court weighs mitigating and aggravating factors

Magistrate Nakyazze noted that she was guided by the Constitution, the Anti-Corruption Act, the Penal Code Act, the Registration of Titles Act and the Sentencing Guidelines of 2013.

She highlighted that abuse of office for personal or third-party benefit is an aggravating factor in corruption-related cases.

While acknowledging Ateng’s age, family responsibilities and clean record, the magistrate emphasised that the offences were deliberate, executed over a period, and involved a breach of trust by a senior government officer. 

She observed that Ateng’s actions opened the door for fraudulent transactions in a public office he was mandated to protect.

The magistrate compared Ateng’s case with that of his co-accused Ocen, noting that Ocen had pleaded guilty and benefitted from lenience, while Ateng went through a full trial and was found guilty on all major counts.

Breakdown of the sentence

Ateng had spent 31 days on remand before sentencing. After considering this period, the magistrate imposed the following penalties, all to run concurrently:

• Abuse of office: Two years and nine months

•  Fraudulent procurement of land title (Counts 3 & 4): One year and 11 months

•  Forgery (Counts 5–10): nine months

•  Uttering false documents: six months

•  On the conspiracy charge, the court declined to impose a separate sentence, citing binding Court of Appeal precedents that discourage punishing an accused for both an offence and the agreement leading to its commission.

Although some of the charges attract much heavier penalties, including life imprisonment for fraudulent procurement of a land title, the court said it considered the fact that the forged title did not end up in the hands of external fraudsters as an important mitigating factor.

Final orders and right of appeal

The court ruled that all the sentences will run concurrently, meaning Ateng will serve a total of five years in prison.

Magistrate Nakyazze informed the convict that he has the right to appeal the conviction and sentence in the High Court within 14 days.

Ateng was then led out of court to begin serving his sentence.