Bonnie Payira, who represented Northern Broadcast Company Ltd, one of the landlords noted that the land in question on plots 18 and 2A was lawfully purchased from the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) in 2005.
Gulu City council officials and landlords accompany state house officials on a visit to inspect the boundaries of Gulu State Lodge in Pece-Laroo Division Gulu City on Tuesday.
A disagreement has erupted
between State House officials and a section of landlords in Pece-Laroo Division
in Gulu City over the ownership of several government plots.
The dispute comes amidst a move
by the State House to secure titles over the piece of land claiming it’s part
of the State Lodge land situated on Plot 4 Churchill Drive in Gulu City.
Officials from the State House Legal
Department alleged that the land has since been encroached on and allocated to local,
private, and government institutions without the knowledge of the Presidency.
Judith Oroma, a senior principal
legal officer to the President, noted that the land is part of 20 other state
lodges currently being encroached on, and the State House intends to secure their
titles.
According to Oroma, the move
arises from the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee directive to the
Presidency demanding a swift move to have all the public lands with state
lodges secured from land grabbers.
Oroma notes that a total of nine
plots part of the state lodge land has already been encroached on and
allocated to developers. The land includes Boma ground on Plot No 1 Churchill Drive
Road which has been titled in the name of Gulu Municipal Council, and Plot 6 on
Princess Road which houses the Gulu Regional Blood Bank.
Others are Plot 08 which is owned
by Stephen Komakech, plot 10 belonging to AMREF, Plot 12 under Caroline
Onekalit, Plot 14 Richard Odiya, Plot 16 Laker Christopher and Plot 18 and 2 A
belonging to Mwaka David all situated on Princes Road.
During a meeting with the landlords
in Gulu City on Tuesday, Oroma advised those occupying the land to write to the
presidency indicating how they acquired the land so that an amicable solution
is arrived at.
However, the landlords disagreed
with the directives and allegations of encroachment citing they legally
acquired the land from the government through the district land board.
Bonnie Payira, who represented Northern
Broadcast Company Ltd, one of the landlords noted that the land in question on plots
18 and 2A was lawfully purchased from the Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) in 2005.
He
noted that the land had been advertised openly in newspaper papers before it
was purchased adding all relevant documents including a leasehold title
acquired from the district land board is available.
Representatives from Gulu
Regional Blood Bank on the other hand noted that the land was officially acquired
in 2009, two years after the process kicked off in 2007 for the establishment
of the modern facility. They too noted that all land documents including a
leasehold title were issued by the Gulu Municipal Land Board.
Some of the landlords however
accused State House officials of targeting them arguing that parts of the state
lodge land currently host the Government Analytical Laboratory under the
Internal Affairs Ministry and Acholi Inn Hotel who are not being questioned.
Robert Kioko, a former staff
surveyor of Gulu District Local Government acknowledged that some of the plots
in question were allocated after approval of the then-district land board. then-district.
Kioko said as a technical
officer, he worked on the interests and requests of the board adding that at
the time, there was development pressure within the Municipality which forced
people to file applications for the open space.
According to Kioko, the first
application was received from Acholi Inn Hotel, followed by Regional Blood Bank
and the Government Analytical Laboratory whose management needed land at the
time before their requests were approved. He however said Gulu Municipal
Council saw the need to protect the Boma ground from further demand by securing
a land title for it in the name of the Municipal Council.
“All the plots created; they were
created through a series of planners. The Land board would plan and send to the
physical planner to approve,” said Kioko.
Gulu Resident City Commissioner
Ambrose Onoria however castigated the technocrats in the then Gulu Municipal
Council for allocating the plots of land while knowing very well they all
belong government. He says such moves may end up costing the local government
financial losses to compensate the landlords in any case the matter is taken to
court.
//Cue in: “Before you get...
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In July last year, legislators on
the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee castigated officials from the State
House for their alleged failure to secure and update land titles belonging to
18 State lodges. They reasoned that such negligence exposes the properties to
land grabbing.