By Henry Okello
TORORO
The Uganda Lands Commission has raised alarm over the controversial occupation of the Tororo State Lodge, a government facility earmarked for Presidential use, which is currently being occupied by a private individual of Indian origin.
Speaking today, Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at the Tororo Municipal Chambers, Commissioner at the Uganda Lands Commission, Christine Aporu Amongin revealed the matter during the Commission’s ongoing government land inventory exercise in the Bukedi sub-region.
She described the situation as disturbing, noting that State Lodges in Soroti, Mbale, and Mayuge have been properly reserved for the President, yet Tororo’s lodge has fallen into private hands.
Amongin tasked the leadership of Tororo Municipality to explain who authorized the allocation, stressing that government land cannot be handed out arbitrarily.
She further announced that the Commission has picked interest in investigating ownership of the Tororo Children’s Lions Park, vowing to protect all government land from encroachment and wrongful occupation.
Tororo’s Deputy Town Clerk, Okoth Kitong, welcomed the Commission’s intervention, admitting that land ownership in municipalities remains a major challenge.
He pointed out that many towns lack proper land titles, and that overlapping transactions between the Uganda Lands Commission and district land boards have created confusion.
Kitong emphasized the need for harmonization, even suggesting that constitutional amendments may be required to resolve persistent disputes.
Other leaders echoed similar concerns. Samali Sabano Epiati, Secretary of the Tororo District Land Board, faulted the Commission for delays in addressing cases where institutional land has been irregularly given to individuals, citing the works yard as an example.
Meanwhile, Peter Ikikina, President of the Municipal Development Forum, highlighted severe encroachment on hospital land in Nyangole and raised questions about government land at Mile 3, procured in 1999, which was recently titled to a private individual.
The Assistant RDC, Aida Kigen, assured the Commission that her office continues to receive numerous complaints about land disputes in the district, driven by population growth and rising investment.
She pledged close follow-up on cases such as Magodesi Primary School land, stressing that government institutions must be protected from illegal allocations.
As the Uganda Lands Commission intensifies its land inventory exercise, Tororo Municipality now faces mounting pressure to account for how government land including the state lodge has ended up in private hands.
