Jinja city officials under probe over illegal sale of school land

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Officials from the State House Anti-corruption Unit, alongside their counterparts from the Internal Security Organization-ISO and the Kiira regional police command, have intensified investigations into complaints of land grabbing orchestrated by Jinja city officials.

The officers who flagged off their operations with a stakeholders meeting on Thursday, have since caused the arrest of the deputy city clerk, Peter Mawerere, the senior lands officer, Fred Waiswa, Charles Nampendo, the senior physical planner and Joy Kasowole, the Jinja city southern division acting clerk.

Meanwhile, the city surveyor, Robert Kitimbo, after being notified about the ongoing inquiries has since fled into hiding.

The suspects are currently detained at Nalufenya police station, awaiting further prosecution.

It is reported that the officers connived to subdivide part of Spire road primary school land into 11 plots, which they shared amongst themselves and sold it off to unidentified developers across the city.

It is alleged that the suspects have over the past two years mismanaged a total of 1.4bn Shillings meant to ensure the development of government schools spread across Jinja city.

They are further accused of using their offices to illegally subdivide the football playground at Lake site primary school, in Southern Division in Jinja city, where each one of them constructed rental premises and amateurishly registered the land titles using the particulars of their relatives to disguise ownership.

The suspects are also being investigated over titling the land housing a two-classroom block at Lake site primary school, which was constructed during the 2017/2018 financial year.

Mariam Namulemo, a member of the Lake site primary school management committee, says that their efforts of reporting cases of land grabbing to police, were never adhered to over the past three years, which she stakes for having bred room for the illegal developments on the school land.

The Jinja resident city commissioner, Saleh Kamba, has since hailed the investigating teams for their efforts in fighting graft tendencies, which he says are the main triggers of land grabbing within this area.

On his part, the Kiira regional police spokesperson, James Mubi says that investigations are underway and the suspects are still recording statements, but a conclusive report shall be availed to the press after concluding inquiries on the same.

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