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KAMPALA - A witness informed the court that the Public Procurement Disposal Assets Authority (PPDA) advised the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) that due diligence should be conducted before degazetting a forest reserve in Ibanda district.

Sheila Nakiwala, a senior legal officer at PPDA, testified as witness number two on April 3, 2024, in a case involving the former Ibanda chief administrative officer (CAO) Matsiko Mutungwire and natural resource officer Tom Nuwagira, who are facing charges of abuse of office in relation to the giveaway of the Ibanda forest reserve.

"The request was in the form of a letter addressed to the Executive Director of PPDA, Benson Turamye and I was assigned to respond to it. We advised that a forest reserve is considered a strategic asset," Nakiwala said.

Nakiwala testified that PPDA advised the Police that before disposal of such assets a valuation process must be conducted by the chief government valuer to determine its market value. She said valuation is crucial in setting an appropriate price for the price of the land and ensuring transparency in the disposal process.

She added that depending on the value and nature of the asset, the disposal process may require approval form the relevant government authorities, such as the finance ministry, contracts committee, or other regulatory bodies before the contract is awarded.

According to Nakiwala, the process has to be initiated by the user department.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution claims that Mutungwire and Nuwagira, while employed as Ibanda CAO and natural resource officer respectively, abused their positions.

They are accused of irregularly entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Rukokoma Mixed Farmers’ Co-operative Society, exchanging part of the Ibanda Forest Reserve for alternative land.

Prosecution, led Safina Bireke at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), purports that the accused agreed to give away 10 hectares of the forest reserve land in exchange for 50 hectares of land from Rukokoma Mixed Farmers’ Co-operative Society, exchanging part of the Ibanda Forest Reserve for alternative land.

It is further alleged that in June 2008, Mutungwire and others still at large arbitrarily entered into the memorandum without obtaining permission to allocate part of the forest land. The accused persons denied the charges and they are out on bail.

Meanwhile, on February 20, 2024, Justice Kajuga ruled that Ibanda town council councillor Francis Bamya, who had been charged alongside Mutungwire and Nuwagira, could not stand trial due to mental instability.

The ruling followed a medical report authored by Dr Leticia Kyohangirwe of Butabika Hospital. The court subsequently discharged him from the trial.

What the law says

Under Section 11(1) of the Anti-Corruption Court Act, a person found guilty of the offense of abuse of office faces up to seven years imprisonment upon conviction, a fine not exceeding 1.3 million shillings, or both.