The Anti-Corruption Court has remanded former Lira City Physical Planner, Omara Geoffrey and renowned businessman Lawrence Okello to prison until May 6, 2025.
The two face multiple charges including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, conspiracy to commit a felony, altering boundary marks and illegally clearing and occupying a forest reserve for commercial purposes.
According to the prosecution, while serving as Lira City’s physical planner, Omara authored a forwarding letter dated June 12, 2018, addressed to the Secretary of the Lira District Land Board.
The letter falsely indicated that the Physical Planning Committee had approved an application for a leasehold title on land located within the Lira Central Forest Reserve.
The court heard that Omara fraudulently processed and secured a land title for the forest reserve, which was subsequently transferred to Okello.
Omara has a history of land-related offenses and has previously been convicted twice for crimes linked to the illegal sale of government land in Lira City and District.
After acquiring the title, Okello allegedly cleared part of the forest reserve, dumped murram to drain the area, and began constructing a petrol station.
Despite warnings from the Ministry of Water and Environment which informed him that the land was within a protected forest reserve and ordered a halt to the construction Okello reportedly proceeded with the project, allegedly with support from influential local politicians.
