By The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted and sentenced former Ministry of Lands official Francis Ateng to three years in prison over his role in the fraudulent acquisition and sale of land belonging to Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).
Ateng, who served as Principal Assistant Secretary at the Lira Zonal Office, was found guilty on 11 counts, including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a land title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
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According to the prosecution, Ateng and others committed the offences in January 2018, when he used his office to irregularly issue a special certificate of title for URC land, subdivide it, and facilitate its sale to private individuals. Investigators said he identified brokers, orchestrated the land’s disposal without following government procedures, and forged the signature of URC’s then Managing Director to authenticate the fraudulent transfers.
One of his co-accused, Joseph Ocen, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.
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The conviction follows a 2022 directive by President Yoweri Museveni for anti-graft agencies including the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, CID, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate widespread corruption within URC, particularly land theft and illegal transfers.
Ateng was immediately remanded to begin serving his sentence.
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