Ibanda Forest Reserve land exchange verdict expected Tuesday

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Judgment in a case involving two former Ibanda district local government officials accused of unlawfully allocating over 10 hectares of the Ibanda Forest Reserve to a private entity is expected to be delivered today, Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

The Anti-Corruption Court in Nakasero, presided over by Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga, is set to deliver the verdict. The ruling, initially scheduled for last month, was postponed to May 6, 2025, as it was not ready.

Former Chief Administrative Officer, Abert Matsiko Mutungwire, and former Natural Resource Officer, Tom Nuwagira, are accused of unlawfully allocating part of the Ibanda Forest Reserve to Rukokoma Mixed Farmers’ Co-operative Society without following the required de-gazettement procedures.

The two are charged with abuse of office under Section 11(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009, in relation to the alleged unauthorised exchange of forest land. If convicted, the offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, a fine not exceeding sh3.3m, or both.

Prosecution's case

It is alleged that in 2009, Mutungwire, Nuwagira, and others, still at large, while at Bwatota Bashonga and Company Advocates Chambers in Mbarara District, irregularly entered into a memorandum of understanding with Rukokoma Mixed Farmers' Co-operative Society and exchanged part of the Ibanda Forest Reserve without following due process.

Defence lawyer Evans Tusiime asked the court to acquit the accused persons, arguing that the district did not incur any loss and that the forest was never de-gazetted.

However, the prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Safina Bireke and Senior State Attorney Gertrude Apio from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), rebutted the defence’s claims. They asserted that although the forest remains intact, the Government incurred legal expenses in defending a civil suit relating to the reserve.

The prosecution further contends that Mutungwire and Nuwagira, while serving as the chief administrative officer and natural resource officer of Ibanda, respectively, abused their offices.

It is alleged that in June 2009, Mutungwire and others, still at large, arbitrarily entered into the memorandum without obtaining authorisation to allocate part of the forest land.

The accused denied the charges and are currently out on bail.