Moroto leaders divided over sale of rock

Luke Lokalei, an artisanal miner holds a marble stone at Loboneit mining site in Rupa Subcounty, Moroto District. PHOTO/PAUL MURUNGI
What you need to know:
- Monitor has seen a sales agreement registered by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau dated May 15, 2024, between Granite General Con tractors Limited Uganda and 78 other elders of Naut Village.
The Moroto District leadership has dismissed claims of fraud in the sale of a rock located in Naut Village, Tapac Sub-county, to a construction firm.
A section of the district leaders claim that Granite General Contractors Limited through its director, Mr Joseph Oyait, did not follow the due process in acquiring the rock at Shs250 million.
Mr Albert Lokoru, the MP for Tepeth County in Moroto District, claimed that Mr Oyait duped the elders of Naut Village into selling him the rock at a low price.
“It is the reason why we ask the district to revoke the title, there is no sales agreement,” he said.
However, the district land board officials and the registry of titles insist the rock and the 68 acres of land around it were acquired by Granite General Contractors Limited through a transparent process.
The district lands officer, Mr Michael Cabral Kinyosi, said the processes leading to the titling of the land was clear.
He said the physical planning committee is privy to all the undertakings, which culminated to the titling of the land.
The Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Kassim Nasibu Kutosi, said he is not aware of any attempt to revoke the land title.
Monitor has seen a sales agreement registered by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau dated May 15, 2024, between Granite General Con tractors Limited Uganda and 78 other elders of Naut Village.
The agreement also stipulates the social responsibilities of the buyer, among them constructing a school, a maternity ward and a community road in the area, of which the latter has been opened.
The particulars of the agreement indicate that the elders and the buyer (Joseph Onyait) settled for Shs250m, of which Shs100m has already been paid.
The chairperson of Tapac Sub-county lands committee, JB Lokwang, said the 78 elders in Naut Village agreed to the sale after several consultative meetings.
“The matter is just being politicised, some section of politicians think the money paid is little while the others think that I got money from the sale of the rock,” Mr Lokwang added.
Mr Onyait also said he acquired the land and the rock from the elders as is the norm in Karamoja, adding that he also processed its title. “As part of the other social obligation, when the elders in that village were in distress of famine, they requested for seed, which I always delivered,” he said.