By John Ogulei
KATAKWI
Katakwi Grade one Magistrate, Her Worship Agnes Abalo, has charged and remanded Martin Aleli, the Katakwi district Physical Planner to Katakwi Government Prison.
Aleli is facing three counts of disobedience of statutory duty and neglect of duty related to the allocation of titles for various pieces of land within Katakwi.
Prosecution alleges that Aleli fraudulently demarcated land from 2010 to 2024, including plot 132 block 3, plot 48 block 3, and plot 100 block 3. Aleli is further accused of failing to provide proper planning for plot 132 block 3 during the same period.
During the court proceedings, Resident State Attorney Katakwi, Engena George, informed the court that investigations are still ongoing, requesting additional time for a thorough inquiry.
The defense, led by lawyer Aloysious Onyait, sought bail for the accused, presenting Oluka Fidel, a town clerk at Katakwi town council, and Okello George Patrick, a Senior Finance Officer at Katakwi town council, as sureties.
However, the state objected to the bail application, emphasizing the need for further investigations to gather sufficient prosecution evidence.
The prosecution argued that keeping the accused in custody is essential as the office is considered a crime scene, and officers are actively investigating the matter.
He also mentioned of the possibility of Anti-Corruption court involvement in the matter.
In response, Aleli’s lawyer contended that the additional charges are speculative, emphasizing the absence of corruption-related charges in the current file.
He expressed confidence in his client’s cooperation with ongoing investigations.
Magistrate Abalo decided to remand the accused until February 26th, when she will rule on the bail application.
While commenting on the matter, the Katakwi District Resident Commissioner – RDC Rtd Maj Godfrey Katamba, said that Aleli was involved in fraudulently sell collusion 12 acres of NARO land, as well as 1000 acres of Olilim land and over 12000 hectares of land in Okore.
Major Katamba urged the residents of Katakwi to safeguard their precious land, emphasizing its significance as the primary source of wealth in Teso.
