A bitter row pitting Lands state minister Sam Mayanja and Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka is threatening to derail the construction of a 132 kilovolt (KV) transmission line from Namanve to Luzira, The Observer had learnt.
At the centre of the controversy is the impending compensation of Shs 28bn by Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) to a handful of individuals for taking over their land to pave way for the transmission line. It is understood Shs 8 billion has already been disbursed to the claimants of the land.
Whereas Kiryowa chaired negotiations between government, UETCL and claimants that gave green light to the payment, Mayanja suspects the claimants are scammers and has moved to block the compensation. Incidentally, K&K advocates, a law firm where Kiryowa is a partner, is the external legal representative of UETCL.
Last week, Mayanja held a press conference in which he said, suspected fraudsters allocated themselves 8 title deeds, most of which are wetlands, in the route where the transmission line is going to pass.
“These title deeds were given some dummy names such as Flavia Muntuyera and Asuman Irunga, but if you dig deep, you will find that the real culprits are hiding. Other companies involved in this scam are Delmas Apartments Ltd, Prestigious Apartments Ltd, Aisha Mulungi and Irene Kwera. Flavia Muntuyera and Asuman Irunga are listed twice,” Mayanja said.
He has since asked the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to investigate…
