A senior land management officer in Ssembabule District has been charged with corruption-related offences after allegedly collecting nearly UGX1 billion from residents seeking government land titles.
Kananura Emmanuel Champion, the Senior Land Management Officer for Ssembabule District, was on Wednesday arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on charges of embezzlement, abuse of office, corruption and obtaining money by false pretence.
He was remanded to prison until August 17, 2026, when he is expected to return to court.
The charges follow investigations conducted by the Inspectorate of Government in collaboration with the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and the Criminal Investigations Directorate.
Prosecution alleges that between August 2024 and August 2026, Kananura used his position to collect between UGX1.5 million and UGX6 million from several applicants seeking government land titles.
Investigators estimate that the total amount collected from the applicants was close to UGX1 billion.
Kananura is accused of falsely representing the payments as mandatory fees for obtaining government land titles under the Land Management Institution Strengthening Grant, despite allegedly knowing that applicants were not required to make such payments.
The programme, implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development through the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer (UGIFT) Project, was designed to help beneficiaries acquire land titles at a lower cost.
The alleged misconduct came to light during the Minister of State for Local Government Balaam Barugahara’s “Expose the Corrupt” campaign in Ssembabule, where several residents reported that they had paid money to Kananura and other officials for land titles but had not received the documents.
The complaints prompted investigations into the alleged collection of unauthorised payments and the circumstances surrounding the failure to issue the promised land titles.
Investigations are still ongoing, with authorities indicating that more officials could be arrested and charged as the probe widens.
Kananura will remain in custody until his next court appearance on August 17. The charges against him remain allegations until proven in court.
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