Nebbi council committee backs return of 505 acres to Uganda Investment Authority for industrial park
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A joint committee of Nebbi District Council has recommended that 505 acres of land at Omvuro be handed back to the Uganda Investment Authority for an industrial park, subject to stakeholder consultations, moving to end a four-year dispute over the property.
Nebbi District Council in northern Uganda has moved towards resolving a four-year dispute over 505 acres of land at Omvuro after a joint committee recommended that the property be returned to the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) for the development of an industrial park.
The recommendation was presented during a council sitting at the Nebbi District headquarters on Friday, 6 November 2026, and proposes that the district first conduct stakeholder consultations before granting final approval for the land transfer. The Joint Committee on Production, Marketing, Environment, Natural Resources, Works and Technical Services, chaired by Hon. Oliver Kitu, told council it had no objection to allocating the land to UIA for the proposed industrial development.
"The committee pronounced itself that it wasn't against the donation and development of the land at Omvuro," Kitu said while presenting the report, adding that council should ensure a stakeholder engagement is done before final approval to donate the land.
Nebbi District acquired the 505 acres in 2021, after which council initially resolved to allocate the land to UIA. The decision was reversed in 2023, with council withdrawing the earlier resolution and considering alternative investors. Alex Onegiu Judagi, the Nyaravur-Angal Town Council LCIII chairperson, said the reversal followed advice that the district could attract private investors independently if it retained the land title. He said the land was subsequently allocated to Modern Group of Companies, Sihaj Solar Limited and other prospective investors, but the proposed investments did not materialise.
Judagi also alleged that some district leaders at the time, together with a highly placed government minister, demanded a Shs3 billion kickback from prospective investors, an allegation he said the investors declined to meet. The allegation has not been independently established.
The District Executive Committee is now seeking council approval to reverse the subsequent allocations and restore the land to UIA. Nebbi District LC V chairperson George Othuba welcomed the committee's recommendation, saying the industrial park could generate substantial employment for young people in the West Nile sub-region; he put the potential at more than 400,000 jobs once operational, a projection that was not independently verified.
The district is planning to convene a stakeholder engagement meeting within two weeks to gather views from affected communities and other interested parties before presenting the matter for final council approval. Speaker Francis Owonda urged councillors to remain firm amid criticism over their positions on the dispute.