Published on 08/05/2025
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has placed the Office of the President under scrutiny after it emerged that 27 out of the 48 land parcels it owns across Uganda have no titles — despite some of these plots hosting office buildings constructed using public funds.
The issue was raised by Butambala County MP Muwanga Kivumbi during a PAC meeting with officials from the Office of the President on May 7, 2025. The meeting was convened to review findings in the December 2024 report by the Auditor General, which warned that the absence of land titles puts government property at risk of encroachment and loss.
“The entity hasn’t titled 27 of its 48 pieces of land, and the size of these properties isn’t even clearly established,” said Kivumbi. “Can you imagine owning land that is neither titled nor surveyed, yet taxpayers’ money has already been spent developing it?”
Yunus Kakande, Secretary in the Office of the President, admitted to the shortcoming but pleaded for more time to rectify the situation.
“All I can say is give us two years, and we shall complete the process,” said Kakande. “Some of the land was donated by districts for the construction of government offices — about 17 so far. The challenge has been acquiring land titles, but we are now left with very few.”
However, Kivumbi dismissed Kakande’s assurance, emphasizing that the Office of the President should set an example of efficiency and integrity.
“What do you mean by ‘very few’? This audit is from December 2024. Has anything changed since then?” he asked. “This is the Office of the President — your actions reflect on the Head of State. It’s unacceptable that half your land is untitled, some of it even lacking clear size estimates. This kind of laxity is typical — we easily process vehicles, but when it comes to land, we don’t title it.”
He urged the Office of the President to emulate State House, which he said had maintained cleaner records.
“The other day on the floor of Parliament, I applauded State House, even though I’m from the Opposition. Their expenditure may have issues, but their accounting records were in order. That’s the kind of report we need — we shouldn’t be spending 30 minutes discussing the Office of the President,” said Kivumbi.
The Committee also raised concerns over the appointment of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) without corresponding budgets to support their work.
“You appoint RDCs but can’t afford drivers. So why appoint them at all?” Kivumbi questioned. “You spend Shs100 million on a brand-new vehicle, and it’s wrecked because the RDC lacks a driving permit. Most of these appointees are failed politicians. They get a car and crash it.”
