City tycoon Abid Alam has offered two square miles of land to squatters in Bukoba, Kasanda district in return for his freedom.
The move is seen as a major victory and a milestone in giving dignity back to people who were spending sleepless nights for fear of Abid Alam’s agents who were acting with impunity.
Kasanda people have Col Edith Nakalema’s led State House Anti Corruption Unit to thank after she mounted pressure on the highly powerful, rich and connected businessman, who has among others compromised the police which had instead turned to harassing peasants.
Alam was last year in April arrested and consequently sent to Kitalya Prison where he spent over three weeks before being granted bail.
Alam was arrested by the State House Anti-corruption Unit led by Col Edith Nakalema on charges of conspiring with four police officers to defeat the course of justice by unlawfully releasing confidential information regarding a case file in which he was a prime suspect.
The arrest followed reports that his agents had been involved in a number of atrocities and unlawful destruction of property in Bukoba, Kasanda, where they were bickering with squatters over land.
The agents reportedly injured several employees of Maj Arthur Mugyenyi before destroying three acres of his banana plantation, two houses and killing his animals.
The group was also accused of gang raping a woman before they destroyed banana plantations, robbed property and battered residents of Bukoba and Bukompe villages, among others.
However, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions later withdrew charges against the three policemen.
Alam’s legal team led by Fred Muwema argued that he is a senior citizen of Uganda, a businessman with more than 15 companies operating under the Alam Group, and is the honorary consul of Indonesia in Uganda, with no criminal record. They added that Alam has a fixed place of abode along Kintu road in Nakasero within the jurisdictions of Buganda Road court.
Despite being out of prison on bail, the businessman has since been battling the charges.
Now, Alam has reached an understanding with the affected residents to occupy two square miles of the contested land in exchange for his freedom. DPP has indicated he has lost interest in this case and will be dropping the criminal charges against him with residents now glad they had land Abid had deprived them of.
Col Nakalema’s State House Anti Corruption Unit has shaken big and small fish, and her courage and effectiveness has amazed not only the appointing authority but also UGANDANS citizens who admire her pragmatic approach to graft and abuse of power.
Abid’s is one of the successful cases the State House Anti Corruption Unit has handled and brought smile on the faces of the victims.
It should be noted that in the agency’s two years since its initiation to support the Office of the Inspectorate of Government, SH-ACU has saved over sh26 billion which has been recovered and returned to public coffers. Also over 280 people have been charged in courts of law, of which 39 have been successfully convicted.
Among people charged in courts include members of Parliament, government accounting officers, chief executive officers, managing directors, secretaries to Commissions, Chaos, Town Clerks among others.
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