LIRA, UGANDA — Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Atenyi begins a nine-day anti-corruption tour of the Lango Sub-region on November 18, with residents across the region demanding that his inspections go beyond rhetoric and confront entrenched graft in parish development funds, district recruitment and land offices.
The tour, announced on the minister’s X account on Sunday, follows operations in Ankole that saw more than 100 civil servants and local officials interdicted or removed. Balaam will start in Amolatar District on November 18, then proceed to Dokolo (November 19), Apac (November 20), Oyam (November 21), Kole (November 23), Alebtong (November 24), Otuke (November 25), Kwania (November 26), and conclude in Lira District and Lira City on November 27.
“Immediately after Ankole, we shall be heading to Lango before crossing to the great West Nile for another ten days,” Balaam said.
But in Lango, the minister’s visit lands in a region already seething with corruption grievances—many of them documented by anti-graft agencies and the President’s own directives.
Residents in several districts told this newspaper they want Balaam to visit specific offices where graft is believed to be entrenched, not simply hold public rallies.
In Lira City, residents specifically asked the minister to visit the Lira City Council gate, where they say complaints about land transactions and urban authority corruption have gone unaddressed. The city has seen repeated land fraud cases, including the conviction of two former Lira City officials in July 2025 over the fraudulent acquisition of a forest reserve title. A former city councillor was also remanded over a Shs70 million bribery allegation linked to a land transaction.
“We want him at the City Council gate, not just in a hotel conference room,” said a resident who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
In Alebtong District, the pressure centres on the District Service Commission. Allegations surfaced in May 2025 that job seekers were being asked for bribes—including a Shs4 million payment for a position in the Agricultural Department that the applicant never received. Residents say the minister should investigate the commission directly.
In Otuke District, the focus is the cattle compensation scheme, where more than Shs1.5 billion was stolen from elderly beneficiaries who lost livestock during the LRA insurgency and Karamoja raids. Three suspects, including a sub-county LCIII chairperson and a UPDF soldier, were charged in August 2025.
In Oyam District, residents point to recruitment irregularities. The Inspectorate of Government arrested a district typist in October 2026 over allegations of soliciting Shs17.6 million from six people while promising them Education Assistant jobs. The case is before the Anti-Corruption Court.
In Dokolo District, the minister is expected to face questions about the Parish Development Model, where officials have been accused of extorting beneficiaries and manipulating SACCO lists. President Museveni himself ordered police bonds revoked for PDM-related suspects in Lango in February 2025, following a report by the late Brig. Gen. Charles Oluka.
In Amolatar District, residents raised concerns about corruption enabling illegal charcoal trade, with the Resident District Commissioner publicly stating that security personnel were facilitating trucks to bypass checkpoints.
The minister’s visit is not entering virgin territory. Anti-corruption crusaders in Lango have said graft cases are rampant across all nine districts of the sub-region. The President’s PDM directive and the Otuke cattle compensation prosecutions have already put local officials on notice.
Balaam’s “Expose the Corrupt” campaign uses field inspections, expenditure audits and investigations into absenteeism and financial mismanagement. In Ankole, the crackdown targeted officials in Rukungiri, Kanungu, Kabale, Kisoro, Rubanda, Sironko, Budadiri, Manafwa and Ntungamo, with allegations ranging from ghost workers and extortion to nepotism and neglect of duty.
Whether Lango will see a similar wave of interdictions remains to be seen. But residents say the measure of the tour’s success will be concrete outcomes: officials held accountable, stolen funds recovered, and services delivered.
“We have heard promises before,” said a resident in Lira City. “This time, we want to see names and arrests.”
