Tororo family, Indian investor clash over 670-acre land

TORORO - A dispute has erupted between an Indian investor, Raval Narendra alias Guru, and a family in Tororo district over land measuring 670 acres.

The contested property worth billions of shillings, is comprised on plot 9939 (formerly plot 1640) at Ngelechom-Kasipodo in Tororo’s Kayoro sub-county.

 Devki Steel Mills Limited owned by Narendra together with Mepani Technical Services Limited are jointly battling for the land with the descendants of the late Lata Oguti. The family is represented by John Olusa and Patrick Elino.  

On Tuesday, officials from State House visited the contested land for a fact-finding mission. During the locus visit, the officials engaged with residents and their leaders to establish the facts regarding the land.

 The groundbreaking ceremony for the two companies, which was scheduled to take place on October 16, this year, was called off due to the ongoing land dispute.

 The ceremony was supposed to be attended by President Yoweri Museveni, Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto, and Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

 Last Thursday, Tororo High Court presided over by Justice Henry Kawesa Isabirye, heard an application in which the investor seeks to have caveats on the land lifted.

The judge directed the parties to file their submissions, upon which he will base his ruling to be delivered on December 2, 2025.

In a suit filed before the court, Oguti’s descendants contend that Devki Steel Mills and Mepani Technical Services acquired the land illegally. They, therefore, seek several remedies, including cancellation of the certificates of title.

Oguti’s descendants are being represented by lawyer Anthony Odele, while the two companies are being represented by lawyer Francis Ocen Ochama.

How it started

Documents seen by New Vision show that between 1952-1956, the Uganda Protectorate Government identified Oguti’s ancestral land as suitable for a tsetse fly research project due to the sparse population and tsetse fly prevalence in the area. 

The descendants, however, contend that without compensation, they were forced to relocate to the neighbouring village known as Kasipodo to give way to the research facility.

Documents indicate that the Government established a major tsetse fly research facility on the land, complete with an airstrip for researchers.

The Government, acting through the Uganda Land Commission, also allocated 600 acres of land to Guangzhou DongSong Energy Group, a Chinese company, and 670 acres were returned to the customary owners (Igoria clan).

The remainder of the land was retained for government activities under the National Livestock Resources Research Institute.

Oguti’s descendants said they assumed possession of the 670 acres of land in 2024, and permitted some community members to use part of it for farming.

Illegal sale, eviction

The descendants, however, state that in 2023, they discovered that some of their relatives John Okware, Solomon Osillo Emiriat, and Milton Otabong [now deceased] had illegally processed a certificate of title for the 670 acres of the land in 2018, and registered themselves as joint tenants.

“No legally binding documentation was executed to authorise the said people to register the land in the manner it was registered,” Olusa argued.

Olusa contended that in May 2025, Okware and Emiriat subdivided the land and sold it to Devki Steel Mills and Mepani Technical Services.

Documents seen by the publication indicate that Okware and Emiriat equally executed two sets of agreements for each subdivided title.

According to Olusa, the agreement submitted to the Land Registry, indicates that Okware and Emiriat allegedly sold the land to Devki Steel Mills and Mepani Technical Services at sh12.6b, which he says was cheap.

Oguti’s descendants purport that Okware, Emiriat, and Otabong, with the support of some Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces officers, forcibly took possession of the land, evicted over 300 families, and destroyed their crops and structures, without compensation.

Demands

In a letter dated October 7, 2025, written to Narendra, the descendants contend that their connection to the land is evidenced by the graves of Oguti and his wife Labeka Apadet, which remained on the land until September 29, 2025, when they were illegally excavated and dumped in an unknown location.

The family members demanded that the remains of their grandparents that were illegally taken on September 29, 2025, be returned to enable a re-burial in accordance with their cultural norms and rites.

They also demanded that they negotiate with the investors a proper purchase price for the land and rectification of all the certificates of title created to reflect the true proprietorship and transaction position. 

Defence

However, lawyer Ochama stated that Olusa and Elino had sought court orders to stop the investors’ companies from carrying out activities on the disputed land, but their application was dismissed.

He clarified that Mepani Technical Services purchased 20 acres, while Devki Steel Mills acquired over 300 acres of land.

According to Ochama, the individuals who sold the land to the two companies (Okware, Emiriat, and Otabong) are also descendants of the late Oguti.

Okware told New Vision that the land belongs to the clan and that there is no evidence to suggest it was illegally sold to the investors.