Major-General Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister for Internal Affairs, has forcefully denied allegations that he illegally acquired 100 acres of land at the former Njeru Livestock Farm in Mukono District.
Addressing the press, Gen. Otafiire dismissed the accusations as a “smear campaign” aimed at undermining his reputation.
He maintained that his 2016 purchase of 50 acres on plot 3 and 50 acres on plot 4 was entirely legal, handled by his lawyer, Sam Ahamya, and supported by full documentation.
“I purchased this land as an individual, not as a minister,” he asserted, refuting claims he used his position or the military to seize the property. He noted that the transactions involved purchasing from private individuals—the estate of the late Christopher Lule and Fredrick Kato Lukwaju—after the government lost ownership of an adjacent plot (plot 2) due to failing to pay rent.
The Minister also confirmed he had leased 10 acres of the land to investors for cannabis cultivation, but stressed this was legal and strictly for government-licensed research purposes aimed at developing medicine.
The current controversy echoes a previous land dispute from the mid-2000s, when Otafiire, then Lands Minister, was accused of owning land in the Nakivubo wetland—an accusation he famously parried by asking if he looked like a “frog or a crocodile.”
Otafiire and his lawyer, Sam Ahamya, expressed confidence that the accusations are baseless, noting that a case against him in the Mukono Magistrate’s Court was already dismissed due to lack of evidence.
The Minister vowed to continue defending himself and urged the media to investigate claims thoroughly.
