The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Lira, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Presidential Special Task Force on land matters and environment has halted all activities on a contested piece of land at the center of a dispute between the Uganda Police Force and Lira District Local Government.
This follows a petition by Gobba Benard, who claims police are unlawfully fencing off his land at Plot 2 and Plot 3 Obua Otoa Close, located in Ojwina Division, Lira City West.
The land forms part of 12 plots at the former Ireda Housing Estate, which were previously the subject of High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 016 of 2018. The court ruled the land belongs to police, though it had been fraudulently acquired around 2019–2020.
Brig. Gen. (RTD) Moses Lukyamuzi, who heads the task force, directed both the district council and the land board to halt all activities until court applications — including Miscellaneous Application No. 54 of 2025 — are resolved.
He also summoned all parties to a fact-finding meeting on August 6, 2025, in Kampala.
In May, the High Court issued an interim order stopping police from accessing the land, but residents say police have continued fencing and preparing the land with tractors.
North Kyoga Regional Police Spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema confirmed the works are ongoing:
Earlier this month, Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba directed that all land titles issued to private individuals be cancelled and re-issued in the name of the Uganda Police Force.
The long-running dispute began in 2018, when the Lira District Local Government subdivided and attempted to allocate the land to private developers — a move later blocked by public interest lawyers from M/s Akoko, Ojok, Omara & Co. Advocates.
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