A senior land management officer attached to Mbale City has been arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on allegations of fraudulently facilitating the transfer of government land to a private businessman.
Emmanuel Paul Kigaye, the Senior Land Management Officer for Mbale City, appeared before the court on charges of abuse of office and fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title. He was remanded to prison until July 16, 2026, when he is expected to return to court.
According to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, which investigated the case jointly with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Kigaye is accused of illegally processing a land title for government land allocated to the Dairy Development Authority.
Prosecution alleges that between September 2019 and May 2023, while serving as Senior Land Management Officer in Mbale City, Kigaye abused his office by causing the Registrar of Titles at the Mbale MZO to prepare a certificate of title for Plot 27, Bishop Masaba Road in the name of businessman Moses Wamatsembe.
Investigators contend that the transaction was unlawful because the land had already been allocated to the Dairy Development Authority, making the issuance of a private title irregular and contrary to the law.
The prosecution further alleges that Kigaye fraudulently processed and procured the registration of a freehold certificate of title, referenced as FRV MBA199 Folio 22, Instrument Number MBA-0009476, for approximately 0.5040 hectares of land located at Plot 27, Bishop Masaba Road in Fairway Cell, in the name of Wamatsembe.
The case is part of ongoing efforts by anti-corruption agencies to crack down on the fraudulent acquisition and illegal disposal of public land.
Court proceedings will resume on July 16, 2026, when the accused is expected to reappear as investigations and prosecution continue.
English 