The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted the former Principal Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Lands, Lira Zonal Office, Francis Ateng, on eleven counts including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a land title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Delivering her verdict today, 27th October, 2025, Chief Magistrate Rachel Nakyazze of the Anti-Corruption Division in Kampala found Ateng guilty of masterminding a fraudulent scheme to defraud the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) of its land in Lira District.
The court ordered that Ateng be remanded until November 7, 2025, when he will return for sentencing.
According to court proceedings, the offenses trace back to a period when Ateng, while serving in the Ministry of Lands’ Lira Zonal Office, fraudulently issued a special certificate of title for land belonging to URC.
He later colluded with other individuals to forge the signature of the then URC Managing Director, which was used to facilitate the separation and sale of the land to private individuals.
Magistrate Nakyazze noted that the accused had grossly abused his authority and violated procedures for handling government property.
“Public officers are entrusted with protecting public assets, not plundering them for personal enrichment, such conduct undermines public trust and will not be tolerated in institutions that serve Ugandans,” Nakyazze said .
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) told court that Ateng’s actions were part of a wider network of corruption targeting URC properties across the country.
The investigations followed a directive from President Yoweri Museveni in 2022, tasking the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and ODPP, to probe and prosecute all individuals involved in the illegal sale of URC land.
One of Ateng’s co-accused, Mr Ocen Joseph, had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The ruling has been applauded by anti-graft campaigners, who describe it as a milestone in efforts to clean up Uganda’s land sector, particularly in the northern region where fraudulent titling and land grabbing have been rampant. If convicted on all counts at sentencing, Ateng faces a lengthy custodial sentence and disqualification from holding public office.
