Nakasero land deal: Rugunda says government to investigate AG William Byaruhanga

Government is going to institute a probe to establish the circumstances under which William Byaruhanga, the attorney general reportedly acquired land that belong sto Nakasero Primary School which he then wanted to sell back to government.

The revelation was made by Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda during a plenary session in Parliament yesterday after Kawempe North MP, Latif Ssebaggala raised the matter on the floor.

“Government is going to investigate these allegations. In the next sitting, the government will provide a preliminary report about this matter, we take allegations being made seriously especially ownership of the land,” he said.

Sebaggala has told MPs that government was likely to lose taxpayers money by buying back land which in essence belongs to it because Nakasero Primary School is a public run school.

Earlier, a whistleblower petitioned Speaker Rebecca Kadaga on grounds that Pine Investments Co, was being fronted to win the contract to sell three acres of land to the Ministry of Finance to construct headquarters of Afro Exim bank in Uganda.

Byaruhanga is a director in Pine Investments.

Four companies are said to have expressed interest in selling land including; Pine Investments Co which offered 2.2 acres near Nakasero Primary School at $4 million (about Shs14.676 billion) per acre, Vara Enterprise offered 2.4 acres in Bugolobi with the company settling for $3.1 million (about Shs11.366 billion). SGL proposed three acres at Kololo Lugogo bypass at $2.7 million (about Shs 9.896 billion).

Kadaga asked the Prime Minister to assure the country that government won’t be duped into buying the land whose ownership is under contention.

“That is a serious allegation if it is true if the land being sold is actually government land at an exorbitant price and possibly involving a member of your cabinet cost. Can you undertake that nothing shall happen, that government will not be forced to buy that land before you come back to this house,” Kadaga said.