Former lands officer in Lira convicted over Uganda Railways property fraud

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A former senior officer of the Ministry of Lands Zonal Office (MZO) in Lira has been convicted of land fraud involving property belonging to the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) and remanded to Luzira Prison pending sentencing.

Francis Ateng, who once served as Principal Assistant Secretary in charge of the Lira Zonal Office, was on Friday, October 24, 2025, found guilty by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala. Chief Magistrate Racheal Nakyazze ruled that Ateng unlawfully sold Uganda Railways land in Lira City without following proper procedures.

He will return to court on November 7, 2025, for sentencing. His conviction follows that of his co-accused, Justus Kabaizi and Joseph Ocen, who were convicted earlier, sentenced, and have since completed their terms.

Ateng, aged 49, was charged with 11 counts of abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony. He was initially granted sh2m cash bail, with four sureties each bonded at sh10m non-cash.

Although the initial case in Lira was dismissed, it was reinstated at the Anti-Corruption Court following fresh investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) in liaison with the Uganda Police Force.

The investigations arose from a 2022 directive by President Yoweri Museveni, who ordered SH-ACU to probe allegations of corruption and land grabbing within the Uganda Railways Corporation.

After receiving the Unit’s report, the President, in a letter dated 3rd October 2022, instructed that all individuals implicated in the attempted theft of Uganda Railways land in Lira be prosecuted.

According to an amended charge sheet accessed by the New Vision, Ateng was jointly charged with Joseph Ocen, 48, a businessman from Anai Okii Cell in Lira City West Division, and Walter Ogangi, 44, a businessman from Kiwanga in Mukono District. Ogangi, however, remains at large.

How the fraud was executed

Court heard that between January 2018 and January 2020, Ateng abused his authority as a public officer by irregularly facilitating the illegal issuance of a special certificate of title and the subsequent separation and allocation of URC land located on Mukwano Road in Lira City (FRV 2020 Folio 13, plots 42–50).

Evidence presented by Senior State Attorney Viola Tusingwire from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions showed that Ateng conspired with Ocen to transfer the land title into Ocen’s name, using forged documents purporting to have been signed by Mr Charles Kateba, then Managing Director of Uganda Railways Corporation.

Ocen, who was charged with personating a public officer, later pleaded guilty under a plea bargain, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and has since served his term. He later became a prosecution witness in the case against Ateng.

Prosecution witnesses included URC Managing Director Charles Kateba, URC Secretary Grace Okot, a handwriting expert, and Robert Okello, a subordinate of Ateng, who testified that he was instructed to upload the forged documents onto the Uganda National Land Information System.

The forged documents included transfer forms, statutory declarations, applications for consent to transfer or sublease, and applications for special certificates of title, all bearing the forged signature of the URC Managing Director.

Chief Magistrate Nakyazze, after analysing the testimony of eight prosecution witnesses, ruled:

“In the result, I find the prosecution has discharged its burden. I find A1, Ateng Francis, guilty and proceed to convict him on count 1 of abuse of office, count 3 of fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, counts 5 to 10 of forgery, count 11 of uttering a false document, and count 12 of conspiracy to commit a felony. You have a right of appeal on conviction.”

The Deputy Head of SH-ACU, Israel Ochwo, who visited Lira in January 2024, said most of the land scams in Lira District and Lira City were orchestrated by politicians and technocrats.

So far, SH-ACU has secured several convictions and recovered multiple plots of land in Lira City, with some politicians and civil servants voluntarily surrendering fraudulently acquired titles back to government.