The Mbarara District Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), David Muhwezi, to record a statement with police over allegations that district land was allocated to various institutions without following the required legal and administrative procedures.
The directive was issued by the committee chairperson, Herbert Kamugisha, during a Public Accounts Committee session held at the district headquarters to scrutinize audit queries arising from the 2024/2025 financial year.
Kamugisha said the committee resolved that Muhwezi should record a statement at Bwizibwera Police Station following concerns raised in the district internal auditor’s report regarding the allocation of public land located on Kamukuzi Hill.
According to the report, several parcels of district land were allocated to a number of government and private institutions, including Uganda Management Institute (UMI), Makerere University Business School (MUBS), Megger Technical Services, the Ministry of Internal Affairs through the Mbarara Regional Analytical Laboratory, the Office of the Solicitor General, Police Barracks, the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), the Directorate of Education Standards, and Kampala International University (KIU).
Kamugisha said the committee also recommended that Muhwezi temporarily step aside from his office to allow investigations into the matter to proceed independently and without any possible interference.
“We want a thorough investigation into the circumstances under which these allocations were made and whether all legal requirements were complied with,” Kamugisha said.
The committee further ordered an immediate suspension of any further allocation, subdivision, lease, or disposal of district land until investigations are concluded. It also demanded a comprehensive valuation report covering all government-owned land on Kamukuzi Hill.
Concerns were raised after reports emerged that some portions of the land had allegedly been leased out at rates as low as UGX 30 million per acre, a figure committee members described as potentially far below the market value of the property.
Kamugisha noted that a fresh valuation exercise would be necessary to establish the current value of the land and determine whether the district suffered any financial loss as a result of the allocations or leases.
In his defense, Muhwezi told the committee that the district acted after receiving requests for land from various institutions and subsequently sought guidance from the Uganda Land Commission, the custodian of public land in Uganda.
Muhwezi explained that the Uganda Land Commission granted the district permission to subdivide the land after reviewing the requests submitted by the beneficiary entities.
The matter is now expected to be investigated further as district leaders seek to establish whether the land allocations complied with existing laws, regulations, and procedures governing public land management.
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