Ibanda district officials charged over illegal land sale

KAMPALA- UGANDA/NEWSDAY: Two civil servants from Ibanda District officials have been charged and remanded to Luzira prison for abuse of office after they gave away 13 hectares of Ibanda Local Forest Reserve to a Cooperative Society without permission.

Investigations leading to their charges were led by the state house anti corruption unit led by Brig Henry Isoke.

Mr Abert Matsiko Mutwingire, Ibanda’s Chief Administrative Officer and Tom Nuwagira, the Natural Resources Officer, were arraigned before Grade One Magistrate at the Kololo-based Anti-Corruption Court, Ms Sarah Asiimwe.

They were Wednesday arrested by SH-ACU officers as they came back to report on police bond.

The two men denied the charges of abuse of office slapped against them.

Magistrate Asiimwe remanded Matsiko to Luzira prison until October 12 but her colleague Mr Nuwagira was granted a cash bail of Shs5m and his sureties bonded at Shs25m, not cash.

Prosecution says that the accused and others still at large during June 2008 at Ibanda District being employed by Ibanda District Local Government as Chief Administrative officer and Natural Resource Officer respectively, in a dire abuse of their authority, via the offices they held, acted arbitrary, a conduct regarded as prejudicial to the interest of their employees to wit irregularly entered into a memorandum of understanding with Rukokoma Mixed Farmers’ Cooperative Society giving away 13 hectares of Ibanda Local Forest Reserve without first obtaining degazettement of the said forest reserve.

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