ARUA CITY INTERDICTS LAND BOARD SECRETARY, SUSPENDS CENTRAL DIVISION LAND COMMITTEE OVER RAILWAYS LAND DISPUTE.

Arua city Council sitting on October 8, 2026, where the Mayor disclosed the decisions. Photo// Dramadri Federick.

By Dramadri Federick

Arua City Council has interdicted the Secretary of the Arua City Land Board and dissolved the Arua Central Division Area Land Committee over alleged irregularities in the processing and allocation of Uganda Railways Corporation land in Arua City.

The administrative actions follow concerns over the handling of Plots 14, 16 and 18 in Gaagaa Cell, Bazar Ward, Arua Central Division, which Uganda Railways Corporation says it holds for future use when railway services along the West Nile line become operational.

The dispute has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Works and Transport, with the line minister, Fred Byamukama, asking the Ministry of Local Government to intervene and safeguard the corporation’s interests.

In a letter dated July 9, 2026, Byamukama expressed concern that the Arua City Land Board had advertised the corporation’s land for possible allocation to third parties on April 29, 2026, despite ongoing engagements over its ownership.

According to the minister’s letter, the land was previously held under a leasehold tenure that expired in 2014. Before the expiry, Uganda Railways Corporation reportedly initiated a process to convert the leasehold into freehold ownership.

However, the process was allegedly frustrated by city officials who claimed that the relevant land file had gone missing.

The minister further stated that Uganda Railways Corporation had complied with the conditions set by the city authorities, including payment of outstanding land rates, but remained at risk of losing the property.

The letter, addressed to the Minister of Local Government, requested government intervention to protect the land, which the corporation considers important for the future re-establishment of railway services in West Nile.

City launches investigations

Arua City Mayor Lawrence Alionzi says the city leadership began examining the matter after receiving the minister’s letter requesting intervention.

Alionzi says the city executive tasked Albert Aduvuku, the Secretary of the Arua City Land Board, to provide a status report on the disputed plots.

However, according to the mayor, Aduvuku denied that the board had allocated the land to another individual, a position that reportedly contradicted submissions made by other members of the land board.

The mayor says the city executive subsequently recommended Aduvuku’s interdiction to allow investigations into the circumstances surrounding the disputed land transaction.

“The Executive Committee of the city recommended the interdiction of Albert, the Secretary to the Land Board, on grounds that he wrote a false report, which was contradicted by the rest of the members of the Land Board. Secondly, it is to pave the way for independent investigations,” Alionzi said.

The mayor adds that the matter is being investigated by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.

The interdiction is an administrative measure intended to facilitate investigations and does not, in itself, establish wrongdoing by the official.

Questions over allocation of railway land.

According to the Mayor, the disputed property was reportedly allocated to an individual identified as Feni Bernard, who is said to have presented land ownership documents and receipts showing payment of 12 million shillings as premium for the property.

The circumstances under which the land was processed for allocation, including the role of the city land administration structures and the status of Uganda Railways Corporation’s ownership claims, remain central to the dispute.

The minister’s letter indicates that engagements over the land were ongoing when the city land board advertised it for possible allocation to third parties.

However, further clarification is needed from the relevant authorities on the legal status of the plots, the documentation presented by the individual claiming ownership, and whether the allocation followed the applicable land administration procedures.

The dispute raises questions about the protection of public land and the management of property reserved for future government infrastructure projects.

Central Division Area Land Committee dissolved

Meanwhile, Arua City Council has dissolved the Arua Central Division Area Land Committee over its alleged involvement in the disputed transaction.

Rashid Oshino, the Secretary for Works, Production and Technical Planning at Arua Central Division, says the decision follows concerns about the committee’s handling of the Uganda Railways Corporation land.

“We have dissolved the Area Land Committee of Central Division over the matter involving the railway land, and we are looking forward to constituting a new committee. This behaviour has made several people lose interest in the committee’s activities, and we have received several complaints regarding the fraudulent nature of their activities,” Oshino said.

Oshino says the allegations surrounding the disputed plots have further undermined public confidence in local land administration structures.

He points to complaints involving missing land titles and alleged land grabbing as some of the concerns affecting trust in land committees within Arua City.

The division is expected to constitute a new committee following the dissolution of the previous one.

Public land and accountability

The dispute comes amid growing concerns about the management of land transactions and the protection of property rights in Arua City.

For Uganda Railways Corporation, the disputed plots are reportedly reserved for future use when railway services along the West Nile line become operational. The loss of the land could therefore affect the corporation’s plans for railway infrastructure in the region.

The ongoing investigations are expected to establish how the plots were processed for allocation, whether the required procedures were followed, and whether any officials breached their responsibilities.

The findings could also clarify the legal status of the disputed land and determine what administrative or legal action may follow.

Arua City Council’s decisions to interdict the land board secretary and dissolve the Central Division Area Land Committee signal an effort to address concerns surrounding the transaction. However, the effectiveness of these measures will depend on the transparency and independence of the investigations, as well as any corrective action taken by the responsible authorities.

The officials implicated in the allegations have not been established to have committed any wrongdoing, and the outcome of the investigations has not yet been made public.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis