By Angel Lubowa
The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted the former Principal Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Lands, Lira Zonal Office, Mr. Ateng Francis, on eleven counts of; abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony, among others.
He was however remanded until November 7, 2025, for sentencing.
Court heard that in January 2018, while employed at the Ministry of Lands’ Zonal Office in Lira District, Ateng Francis, along with others, abused his authority with the intention of defrauding Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) of it’s land.
He facilitated the issuance of a special certificate of title, arranged for the separation and allocation of the said land, identified brokers, and sold the land to private individuals without following the procedures for disposing off government property.
Ateng and his co-accused further forged signatures of the then Managing Director URC and used it to utter false documents used in the transfer and sale of the said land.
One of Ateng’s co-accused, Ocen Joseph, had previously pleaded guilty on the same charges and given a custodial sentence of two years.
These investigations followed a directive issued by H.E. the President in 2022, to their State House Anti Corruption unit and Uganda Police to investigate corruption within Uganda Railways Corporation and to prosecute all individuals involved in attempts to sell Uganda Railways.