Four people among them, the MP for Bufumbira County South in Kisoro District, Mr Sam Bitangaro, have been remanded to Luzira Prison over fraud in connection with the sale of non-existent land in Kassanda and Gomba districts.
Mr Bitangaro was yesterday arraigned before the Magistrates Court at Makindye jointly with city lawyer John Francis Onyango Owor, Mr William Tumwine, an officer in charge of Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme at the Gender Ministry, and his wife Stella Kakuba.
They were arrested by police and State House detectives as they reported to answer their bond.
Grade Two Magistrate John Robert Okipi remanded the four suspects until January 6.
“You will take plea before the Chief Magistrate on Monday because administratively, the Chief Magistrate allocates the files,” Mr Okipi held amid protest from their lawyer, Ms Annet Bada, who said they were to apply for bail for the suspects because the offenses are bailable.
Prosecution preferred charges against them of obtaining money by false pretenses, fraudulent procurement of title, fraud on sale or mortgage of property, and conspiracy to defraud in regard to sale and acquisition of land, which was meant to resettle more than 2,579 people, who were evicted from Luwunga Central Forest Reserve in Kiboga District.
The arraigning of the suspects in court follows several months of long joint investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the police.
In 2007, government contributed Shs3b while New Forest Company contributed Shs1.5b to finance the acquisition of land and construction of social amenities.
The eviction of people from Luwunga Forest was to pave way for New Forest Company, a London-based company, to replant the heavily degraded forest reserve after they signed a deal with National Forestry Authority (NFA) in 2005.
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