A dispute has emerged in Tororo District over the allocation of public land to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for office construction, with councillors accusing district chairperson John Okea of bypassing established procedures.
The contested site, located next to Amagoro Court in Tororo Municipality, is already under construction, despite concerns from district leaders that the land may have been allocated without the necessary approvals.
District speaker Eddy Obella said key administrative and technical offices had not been involved in the process, raising questions about the transparency and legality of the transaction.
“The CAO’s office is not aware about it, my office is not aware about anything, the physical planning unit is not aware about anything. The transaction is just between DPP and the chairperson,” Obella said.
He cited Section 32(1) and (2) of the Local Governments Act, arguing that the district council has authority over government property vested in local governments and that the chairperson could not independently allocate the land without the required approval.
“He does not have any power to allocate anyone land because if you read the Local Governments Act, all the powers are vested in council to handle government property,” Obella said.
However, a letter dated August 10, 2026, reportedly issued by Okea states that the district council met on May 6, 2026, and approved the allocation of the land to the DPP.
The claim has been challenged by councillors, who question why the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) did not formally communicate the alleged council resolution to the prosecution agency.
District councillor Michael Choki said that if the council had approved the allocation, the CAO should have handled the official communication on its behalf.
“If indeed the council had resolved that the DPP be given land, that resolution should have gone to the ministry and therefore the CAO was supposed to be the one to write to the DPP on behalf of council, not the chairperson’s office,” Choki said.
The CAO’s office subsequently intervened. In a letter dated September 24, 2026, it directed the district engineer and the Resident District Commissioner to stop the construction, citing failure to follow the required land acquisition procedures.
However, construction has continued despite the directive, prompting further concerns among councillors about compliance with administrative decisions and the council’s authority over public property.
Choki said the continued works undermined the council’s mandate to make decisions concerning government land.
“The ongoing construction means the council is already undermined and yet we have the authority. The Local Governments Act gives the council authority to make decisions,” he said.
The dispute has also raised concerns about the district’s ability to secure land for future public infrastructure projects.
Tororo District is pursuing plans to upgrade Tororo Main Hospital to a regional referral hospital, a development expected to require additional land for expanded facilities and specialised services.
Choki questioned how the district would accommodate the proposed expansion if it lost access to land that might be needed for the project.
“As we speak, there is a proposal of elevating Tororo Main Hospital to a referral hospital but one of the requirements is land. So what happens if by the time they are granting us that, we don’t have land?” he asked.
The dispute remains centred on whether the allocation was properly approved, whether the required administrative procedures were followed and why construction has continued despite the reported directive to halt the works.
The district council’s position, the documentary basis for the allocation and the DPP’s response will be central to establishing how the contested transaction was handled.