By KT Reporter
The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has convicted and sentenced former officials and businessmen involved in the fraudulent procurement of land within the Lira Central Forest Reserve. Geoffrey Omara, the former Physical Planner and Senior Land Management Officer attached to Lira District Local Government, has been fined two million shillings or faces four years imprisonment.
Joseph Ocen Alwong, another former official, was fined one million shillings or two years’ imprisonment. Businessmen Lawrence Okello and Joel Okwir were also convicted, fined 6.4 million and 5 million shillings respectively, or risk two years imprisonment each. The charges against them included abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, conspiracy to commit a felony, altering boundary marks, and illegal occupation of the Lira Central Forest Reserve for commercial purposes.
Through a plea bargain, the accused pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay fines totaling over 14.4 million shillings. In addition, all four are barred from holding any public office for the next 10 years. Okello has committed to returning the fraudulently obtained land title to the Commissioner of Land Registration for cancellation.
The scandal dates back to 2018 when Omara forged approval from the Physical Planning Committee for a leasehold title application by Mark Aliro, which never actually existed. Ocen Alwong irregularly certified these application documents without proper authority while serving at the Lira Municipal Council.
Okwir was found to have forged a National Identity Card in the name of Aliro Mark, Okello’s son, and fraudulently processed a freehold title for land located at Plot 4A, Station Road, Railways Quarters ‘A’—part of the forest reserve. This took place between April 2018 and July 2020.
Between November and December 2020, Okello transferred the title from Aliro Mark to himself in conspiracy with Okwir, submitting forged documents to a Land Ministry official. Court documents also reveal that between September 2020 and October 2022, Okello altered boundary marks of the Lira Central Forest Reserve, clearing land to build and operate an oil fuel station without permission.
Omara had previously been convicted twice for illegal sale of government land in Lira. Investigators say Okello ignored orders from the Ministry of Water and Environment to halt development on the forest reserve, allegedly supported by political figures in Lira.
In December 2024, Okello was arrested for constructing another illegal fuel station at Pece Swamp in Bar-dege Division, Gulu City, violating NEMA’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment conditions. He was later released on bail by the Chief Magistrate Court in Makindye-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
