Former lands officer convicted over illegal sale of Uganda Railways land
Ateng was on Friday (October 24) found guilty of 11 counts, including abuse of office, forgery, uttering false documents, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Francis Ateng in the dock at the Nakasero-based Anti-Corruption Court on Friday, October 24, 2025, as the verdict was being delivered. (Courtesy photo)
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The Nakasero-based Anti-Corruption Court has convicted the former principal assistant secretary at the Lira Ministry of Lands Zonal Office, Francis Ateng, for his role in the illegal sale of Uganda Railways Corporation land in Lira district.
Ateng was on Friday (October 24) found guilty of 11 counts, including abuse of office, forgery, uttering false documents, fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Chief Magistrate Rachel Nakyazze cancelled his bail after conviction and sent him to Luzira Prison until November 7, when he will be sentenced.
Court heard that Ateng, in collaboration with his accomplice, Joseph Ocen, fraudulently facilitated the sale of Uganda Railways Corporation land located on Mukwano Road in Lira, between January 2018 and January 2020.
Ocen, a Lira-based businessman, had earlier pleaded guilty to personating a public officer, entered a plea bargain with the state, and was sentenced to two years in prison. He has since completed his sentence and was released.
Prosecution led by senior state attorney Viola Tusingwire from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stated Ocen falsely posed as Charles Kateba, the managing director of Uganda Railways Corporation, and signed fake documents to obtain a special certificate of title for the land.
Ateng was found to have facilitated the process by approving and uploading forged documents into the Uganda National Land Information System, leading to the fraudulent allocation of the land.
The case was investigated by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit. A third suspect, Walter Ogangi, a businessman from Mukono district, remains at large.
Magistrate Nakyazze stated that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that Ateng committed the offences and accordingly convicted him.
“I find the prosecution has discharged its burden. I, therefore, find Ateng Francis guilty and convict him on all the counts,” Nakyazze stated in her ruling.