UBC, NFA clash over Arapai land as Museveni gives away 224 acres to American NGO

Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) and the National Forestry Authority (NFA) are locked in a dispute over the ownership of 374.8 acres of prime land in Arapai, Soroti district.

The standoff escalated during a harmonization meeting convened by the resident district commissioner (RDC), Hajji Imran Muluga, at Soroti district headquarters on Monday this week.

The contested land is at the heart of overlapping claims by UBC and NFA, further complicated by President Museveni’s directive to allocate 224.88 acres of the same land to Pilgrim Africa, a US-based Christian NGO, to establish a training school.

According to Muluga, the conflict began about a month ago when NFA accused UBC of encroaching on the Odudui Central Forest Reserve. NFA officials later surveyed and marked the boundaries, prompting UBC to protest, citing its registered land title.

UBC’s representative, Arnest Kisitu, insisted the broadcaster has occupied the land since the 1950s when Radio Uganda set up its station.

“This land was formally vested in UBC in 2005, measuring 350 acres at that time. UBC processed a land title in 2010 and a subdivision in 2014. We were shocked when NFA encroached on about 50 acres of our land this year,” Kisitu said.

He added that UBC had already complied with the President’s directive to donate part of the land to Pilgrim Africa.

“We cannot understand why NFA is challenging our ownership now,” Kisitu argued, demanding the removal of NFA’s boundary markers. But NFA’s range manager for Kyoga, Michael Kusoro, countered that Odudui Forest Reserve has been legally gazetted for decades.

“The reserve was first surveyed in 1952, gazetted as a Local Forest Reserve in 1965, and upgraded to a Central Forest Reserve in 1968, with reaffirmations in 1998 and 2004. NFA took over management after the forest department was dissolved in 2004,” Kusoro explained.

He acknowledged that UBC holds a land title but questioned how it was obtained without consulting NFA.

“Titles can always be harmonized, but this one was processed irregularly,” he said.

Soroti LC V chairperson, Simon Peter Edoru Ekuu, traced the origins of the dispute to 2006 when Pilgrim Africa first approached the district for land.

“At that time, the district unknowingly showed them UBC’s land. Pilgrim even paid Shs 42 million to the district, but when titling began, it was discovered that UBC already held a title. They were later relocated to Apege, but nothing was developed there,” Edoru said.

He expressed doubts about UBC’s donation of land, remarking that “UBC is losing land bit by bit,” and insisted that boundary issues should have been clarified before any allocation.

UBC managing director, Maurice Mugisha, dismissed allegations of shady dealings, stressing that the broadcaster was only following government orders.

“UBC has no private dealings with Pilgrim. What we have is a Cabinet paper, supported by a directive from the minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi. Our role is simply to implement what the government has resolved,” Mugisha said.

Soroti chief administrative officer, Elly Piwang, urged patience and professionalism.

“Technical staff should compile a detailed report. If harmonization fails, the matter should be forwarded to the commissioner for lands and the ministry of Lands for a final decision,” he advised.

The unresolved dispute highlights Uganda’s wider land governance challenges, where overlapping claims between institutions are common due to weak enforcement and record-keeping.

For now, RDC Muluga has directed both UBC and NFA to halt further activity on the land until the technical teams present their findings. Pilgrim Africa, which runs health, education, and agriculture programs from its Soroti headquarters, remains in limbo as its planned training school awaits clarity.