By our reporter
In a significant legal and political development, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Namisango Kamya, has launched an investigation into allegations of fraudulent activities involving prominent city tycoons and Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL). The inquiry centers around a Shs 28.8 billion compensation deal allegedly secured through dubious means from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government.
The probe follows a letter from Dr. Sam Mayanja, the State Minister for Lands in the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development. Dr. Mayanja has raised concerns that the land compensated by the government was public land, fraudulently acquired by the tycoons. He claims that the tycoons obtained land titles for properties, including LRV 4143 Folio 2 Plot 14 and LRV 4143 Folio 3 Plot 16, among others, after learning about the government’s planned Namanve-Luzira 132 KV transmission line.
According to Dr. Mayanja’s preliminary investigation, the accused tycoons include Flavia Muntuyera, Asuman Irunga, Delmas Apartments Limited, Prestigious Apartments Limited, Aisha Mulungi, and Irene Kwera. He alleges that Muntuyera and Irunga are listed twice, suggesting they received double compensation. Moreover, he claims that these individuals failed to pay stamp duty when the land titles were issued.
In response to these allegations, Dr. Mayanja has instructed the Commissioner of Land Registration to place a caveat on the disputed land titles until the investigation is concluded. He has also urged the IGG to take legal action against those implicated for causing financial loss to the government.
The controversy has its roots in a court settlement where the tycoons sued the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka and UETCL, represented by K&K Advocates, a firm where Kiwanuka is a founding partner. The settlement, which resolved the matter out of court, awarded the plaintiffs Shs 28.852 billion as full and final compensation for their claims on the land.
However, in September 2023, Attorney General Kiwanuka issued a legal opinion advising against compensating any land titles in wetlands, citing Section 44 of the Land Act which governs environmentally sensitive areas. Kiwanuka’s advice was intended to address claims related to the electricity transmission line construction.
Additionally, the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters, led by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, had previously recommended that individuals holding private land titles in the Namanve and Luzira wetlands should not be compensated by the government.
