On Monday, the Deputy Inspector of Government Anne Muhairwe went to Luwero town council to investigate a complaint of irregular disposal of public land and construction of illegal structures.
Ronald Luyinda a local businessman narrating to Deputy IGG Anne Muhairwe he paid a bribe to councillors and technical staff to allow him construct illegal structure on public land
A businessman in Luwero Town Council, Ronald Luyinda (also known as Kalaso), has alleged that three town councilors and technical staff accepted a bribe of 15 million shillings to permit the construction of an unauthorized building on public land. Luyinda claims the officials involved included Luwero Town Council Speaker Rebecca Namale, and Councilors Robert Okello and Musa Kakande, who he says promised to facilitate his permits for a three-room commercial building erected in December on a 23-foot plot within the Luwero Taxi Park.
On Monday, Deputy Inspector General of Government Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe visited Luwero to investigate a whistleblower’s report accusing Luyinda of illegally acquiring the land and building without permits. Muhairwe inspected the site and summoned town council and district officials to a meeting at Luwero District headquarters, pressing Luyinda to explain how he acquired the land and why he proceeded without official permits.
Luyinda defended himself, stating he obtained the land from the town council and paid the officials to secure the necessary permissions. He presented a local resident, Nasser Ssebaggala, as a witness to the transaction.
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The accused councilors and speaker denied the bribery allegations, countering that Luyinda was attempting to smear their reputations after they raised issues about his irregular land acquisition. Robert Okello, Councilor for Binyonyi Electoral Area – Luwero West Parish, stated, that Luyinda’s accusations were intended to tarnish their names due to the council’s order to halt his construction on land he acquired irregularly from Town Clerk Lydia Nabaasa and LC3 Chairperson John Buwembo.
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Luwero Town Council enforcement officer Mustapha Lubega told the IGG that he had ordered Luyinda to stop construction during the Christmas season, but the directive was ignored. Lubega said that even after the building’s completion, he attempted to seal it off, only to have LC3 Chairperson Buwembo break the seals and allow its use. Lubega stated that Buwembo threatened him with a transfer for “sabotaging” the community by enforcing the orders.
In response to Muhairwe’s query on why Buwembo wasn’t detained for breaking the government seals, Lubega explained his reluctance, citing Buwembo’s intimidation tactics. However, Buwembo defended his decision, arguing that the technical staff were aware of the construction, and he intervened to protect the interests of his voters.
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Deputy IGG Muhairwe ordered the Luwero District Police Commander to investigate the bribery claims against the councilors and compile a report for her office. She also instructed the police to evict tenants from the disputed building and shut it down pending the investigation’s outcome.
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This case has brought renewed scrutiny to public land management in Luwero. Recently, IGG Beti Kamya Turwomwe ordered the interdiction of town clerk Lydia Nabaasa over similar allegations. Nabaasa faces investigations into her role in the irregular disposal of council land and failure to halt the unauthorized building’s completion.
IGG Kamya remarked, “The Town Clerk was informed of this illegal construction but did not adequately intervene and the building was built to completion. In addition, the illegal developer was fraudulently assessed for property tax by the Town Council. He went ahead and paid property tax for the said property belonging to Luwero Town Council under the watch of the Town Clerk.”
