The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted Ateng Francis, the former Principal Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Lands, Lira Zonal Office, on 11 counts including abuse of office, fraudulent procurement of a title, forgery, uttering false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Ateng has been remanded until November 7, 2025, when he will be sentenced.
Court heard that in January 2018, while serving at the Ministry of Lands’ Lira Zonal Office, Ateng conspired with others to fraudulently acquire and sell land belonging to Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).
He reportedly facilitated the issuance of a special certificate of title, separated and allocated the land, identified brokers, and sold the property to private individuals, all without following the legal procedures for disposing of government property.
Investigations revealed that the group also forged the signature of the then URC Managing Director and used it to process false documents in the land transfer and sale.
One of Ateng’s co-accused, Ocen Joseph, had earlier pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The conviction follows investigations launched in 2022 after President Yoweri Museveni directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working with the CID and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), to probe corruption and fraudulent land dealings within Uganda Railways Corporation.
