The Anti-Corruption Court has sentenced Francis Ateng, a former Principal Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Lands in the Lira Zonal Office, to three years in prison for his role in the fraudulent acquisition and sale of land belonging to the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).
Ateng was convicted on 11 counts, including abuse of office, forgery, uttering false documents, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The offences were committed in January 2018 while he served at the Lira Zonal Office.
Court heard that Ateng worked with other individuals, still under investigation, to illegally process a special certificate of title, subdivide the land, and sell it to private buyers—actions carried out without following procedures for disposing of public assets.
He also participated in forging the signature of the then URC Managing Director to facilitate the illegal transfers.
The scam was part of a broader investigation into corruption at URC, launched in 2022 after President Yoweri Museveni directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, CID, and the DPP to pursue those behind the fraudulent takeover and sale of railway land.
One of the co-accused, Ocen Joseph, who admitted his involvement earlier, is already serving a two-year sentence.
