Kirunda Arrested in Jinja City Over Forgery

By Abraham Lincolns | Jinja

A joint security operatives arrested and detained the secretary of Jinja City Secretary land board Abu-Baker Kirunda on allegations of land grabbing and forgery of land titles.

Kirunda who is the former Assistant Town Clerk for Jinja South East Division was handcuffed last week and kept by police detectives in Kampala pending final investigations for prosecution to take shape.

According to sources, Kirunda has been misusing his office on allegations that he processed three land titles on 2 acres of land situated at Kyabazinga shell, Clive Road East in Jinja city, a piece of land said to be originally owned by (former Caltex) now TotalEnergies company.

Investigations revealed that the land in question had its lease expired but Kirunda and late Waiswa Kiwanuka, a former revenue officer convinced Council authorities and sold it to Hajji Badiru Watongola, the Kamuli Municipality NRM chairperson without a legal notice to the then Caltex.

The troubled Kirunda who is also a former Assistant Town Clerk for Jinja South Division has been arrested and arraigned before courts of law ever since on several allegations of illegal land dealings, corruption and grabbing both private and public land.

According to our investigations, many investors including Everest International Limited have fallen prey in search for land where Kirunda helps in production of several land titles to convince buyers something that has attracted the intervention of the state house Anti-Corruption Unit.

TotalEnergies have been in court with Hajji Watongola for a period of over 20 years without ruling though two caveats were extended over the land in question and status quo be maintained.

In 2017, Justice Catherine Bamugemeirere launched Inquiries into land matters where she ordered Kirunda’s detention for allegedly withholding information regarding the acquisition of land in forest reserve.

While thoroughly squeezed, Kirunda admitted and accepted to surrender the land title of a plot of land he fraudulently acquired in Kimaka forest reserve. “I was misled by one of the land dealers in Jinja to buy the said land; little did I intend to encroach on a forest reserve, but I can surrender its land title to you,” Kirunda pleaded before Justice Bamugemeirere.

However, questions still raise to Kirunda’s approval by Jinja City Council as the secretary land board even when he admitted to have been involved in land grabbing while still the city’s assistant town clerk.

Greater Jinja district is described as the headquarter of corruption and land grabbing in Busoga and Uganda, basing on the numerous complaints received at the inspectorate where details reveal that Kimaka forest reserve was divided into 18 plots together with Mpumudde National Housing sewage lines land.

However, a reliable source intimated to the second opinion that Kirunda’s arrest as a result of forgeries done on land procured by an Indian one Bob whose lease had expired.

Meantime the state house ant corruption public relations office Natasha Mariam confirmed that truely her team landed in Jinja city and arrested the top suspected corrupt officer and details will be released soon