Ibanda — Hon. Balaam’s anti-corruption meeting at Ibanda District Hall turned into a moment of reckoning for the district after residents and leaders raised several major issues alleging corruption in recruitment, academic qualifications, and encroachment on public land. The issues were presented with supporting documents, some already stamped as received by the Office of the Minister of Local Government, with those who raised them asking for forensic investigation, verification by the responsible institutions, and protection for whistleblowers under the Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2010.
Among the issues raised was the alleged irregular appointment of the Ibanda District Staff Surveyor. Those who raised it said he rose from Assistant Physical Planner in Ishongororo Town Council to substantive Staff Surveyor on 28th April 2025 without the required qualifications, allegedly using forged papers. They questioned two diplomas allegedly pursued concurrently at the Institute of Survey and Land Management, Entebbe — Physical Planning enrolled in 2017 and Land Surveying and Geomatics enrolled in 2018 — with different award dates of 18th October 2019 and 20th April 2021, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and Geomatics from Ndejje University allegedly enrolled in 2023, completed in May 2024 and graduated on 11th October 2024. They asked UBTEB, Ndejje University, NCHE, the Institution of Surveyors of Uganda and the Surveyors Registration Board to verify the documents, and further raised concerns about alleged extortion in Ishongororo, connivance with land grabbers, operation of three private survey firms in Mbarara City, and diversion of government surveying equipment for private work. They want the appointment rescinded if the allegations are confirmed, the firms investigated, government money recovered, and criminal proceedings considered.
Residents also raised concerns about alleged encroachment on public land in Buremba Town Council by former LCIII Chairman Mr. Ruyondo George. According to those who raised it, in 1995 Buremba Sub County allocated him Plot No. 2 on Ishomero Road, 50ft x 150ft, while Buremba Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society got three plots opposite him where it built structures with support from President Museveni. They alleged that in 2009, while serving as both LCIII Chairman and Chairman of the Cooperative, he obtained titles MBR 119 Folio 22 Block 50 Plot 5 and MBR 197 Folio 16 Block 50 Plot 19 which allegedly encroached on Town Council land, Cooperative land and land belonging to Mr. Turyasingura Elias Nduhira. They traced complaints from 2014, an IGG investigation in 2022, an IGG letter of 31st January 2023 referring the matter to the Commissioner Land Registration under Section 91 of the Land Act, and a Commissioner’s letter of 10th August 2023 asking Kazo District Land Board to withdraw the allocation minutes to allow cancellation. They also raised concerns about threats and counter-complaints from 2024 to 2026, and asked that the Section 91 process be concluded and public land restored.
Another issue raised by Mujuni Baptist, Town Clerk of Ishongororo Town Council, concerned a plot allegedly inside the Ibanda Local Forest Reserve. Those who raised it alleged that Mr. Mutara George fraudulently obtained a title for the plot, prompting the CAO to warn him on 16th September 2025 to stop interfering with public land, and to petition the Uganda Land Commission through the Solicitor General on 1st October 2025. According to the documents presented, the Uganda Land Commission cancelled the title on 23rd February 2026, after which Mr. Mutara George sued the Uganda Land Commission, Ibanda District Local Government and the Commissioner Land Registration in Mbarara High Court, where the matter is pending as Civil Suit No. 19 of 2026 and Miscellaneous Application No. 152 of 2026. A cadastral map of the forest reserve was presented as evidence that the plot falls inside the reserve, and leaders asked Hon. Balaam to ensure the reserve is protected while court determines ownership.
There was also a personal plea from Corporal Tumusiime Naboth of Sigirira 1, Kihani, Kikyenke, dated 11th August 2026, who alleged that his 26-year-old son Tumwesigye Emmanuel, an enrolled nurse, applied for an Enrolled Nurse post at the Ibanda District Service Commission, did interviews and was shortlisted, but had his vacancy taken by another person said to be a relative because officials wanted money. Together, the issues paint a picture residents say has become familiar in Ibanda — jobs allegedly sold, qualifications allegedly forged, and public land allegedly grabbed — and Hon. Balaam received them with a promise that they would be forwarded for verification and action, urging residents to continue exposing corruption at the 4pm baraza with evidence rather than suffering in silence.
