The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court has remanded Mbale City Senior Land Management Officer Emmanuel Paul Kigaye over allegations that he illegally facilitated the transfer of government land to a private businessman.
Kigaye was on Tuesday arraigned by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), on charges of abuse of office and fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title.
He denied the charges and was remanded until July 16, 2026, when he is expected to return to court.
According to the prosecution, between September 2019 and May 2023, Kigaye, while serving as Senior Land Management Officer in Mbale City, allegedly abused his office by influencing the issuance of a certificate of title for Plot 27, Bishop Masaba Road, in the name of businessman Moses Wamatsembe.
Prosecution alleges that the transfer was irregular because the land had already been allocated to the Dairy Development Authority (DDA), making its registration in a private individual’s name unlawful and detrimental to government interests.
The prosecution further accuses Kigaye of fraudulently processing a freehold certificate of title — FRV MBA199 Folio 22, Instrument No. MBA-0009476 — for the 0.5040-hectare property located at Plot 27, Bishop Masaba Road, Fairway Cell, Mbale City, in favour of Wamatsembe.
The charges are part of broader investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit into alleged fraudulent acquisition, misuse and illegal disposal of public land involving public officials.
