LIRA - The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Lira district, Ben Otim Ogwete, has been arrested over the alleged irregular sale of government land. 

Otim was Monday, May 15, picked up from his home in Senior Quarters by officers from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) and the Uganda Police Force. 

He was driven to Kampala where he is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. 

An officer from SHACU who preferred anonymity for lack of authorisation to speak publicly on the matter told New Vision that Otim is being charged with abuse of office and will appear in court on Tuesday. 

Otim is accused of failing to control government property as an accounting officer of the district. 

The officer also revealed that the CAO as the custodian of government property ended up disposing of the said government land through the district land board. 

“He failed to communicate the decision of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government to stop activities concerning government property in Lira district and Lira city,” the officer said. 

The Lira Resident City Commissioner, Lawrence Egole, was unavailable for comment on the arrest as repeated calls to him went unanswered. 

Otim now joins a number of Lira district and city officials arrested and charged over the irregular sale of government land in Lira. 

The trio was arrested in Lira over land fraud and were transferred to Kampala to appear before the Anti-Corruption Court over corruption charges. Left to right is Joseph Ocel Alwong, Basil Opio Eram and Alex Opio alias Peter Okodo. (All Photos by Hudson Apunyo)

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At the beginning of last month, the former Deputy Town Clerk of Lira city, Patrick Ogwang, was charged in court over corruption. 

Ogwang together with Geoffrey Omara, the former Lira city physical planner allegedly connived and gave away part of the Mayor's Gardens to businessman Patrick Olet. 

Omara who was earlier convicted in the same court has since disappeared from Lira and is said to be on the run. 

The former Principal Assistant Secretary who was in charge of the Ministry of Lands Zonal Office in Lira, Francis Ateng, was in October 2022 charged with fraud in the Lira Chief Magistrates Court. 

Ateng was charged together with, Justus Kabaizi, 45, Joseph Ocen, 45, and Walter Ogangi, 41. 

Ateng and Opio were released on bail but last week, SHACU had the charge sheet amended and the bail cancelled. 

In another case, Fabious Otike, district natural resources officer, Hellen Anyango, acting secretary, District Land Board, Francis Opio a staff surveyor, and Joseph Ocen Alwong, a senior land management officer, were accused of complicity in the irregular sale/re-allocation of district land and buildings on Plot 41, Church Road, Plot 3, Agoro Road and land at Ireda Estate with house no. 127/90 and house no. 131/94, among others, all in Lira city, to private developers. 

The four were interdicted, but later the interdiction was lifted for some 

SHACU took over the investigation and in September 2022, Joseph Ocen Alwong, the Lira district senior land management officer, Basil Opio Eram, chairperson area land committee of the former Ojwina Division, and Alex Opio were produced in court over corruption charges. 

In May 2022, the secretary of the land board, Francis Okello Olwa, was arrested and taken to Kampala where he appeared in court and the case is still ongoing. 

In August 2021, a group of youth took to the streets of Lira City to protest what they called the fraudulent sale of public land.