The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Mbarara District, David Muhwezi, has been arrested and detained following recommendations by the district’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over alleged irregularities in the allocation of public land.
Muhwezi was arrested on Tuesday after the PAC accused him of failing to provide proper technical guidance to the district council regarding the allocation of more than 20 acres of district land to several institutions without the necessary documentation and approval procedures.
The institutions that reportedly benefited from the allocations include the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), the Office of the Auditor General, and Kampala International University, among others.
According to findings presented during the PAC sitting, the district land was allocated without adequate records, raising concerns about transparency, accountability, and compliance with public asset management procedures.
Committee members faulted Muhwezi for allegedly failing in his role as the district’s chief technical officer, arguing that he should have properly advised the council on the legal and administrative implications of the land allocations before any decisions were taken.
The PAC subsequently recommended his immediate arrest and removal from office to allow investigations to proceed without interference.
Following the recommendation, Muhwezi was ordered to vacate his office with immediate effect and was later taken into custody. He is currently being held at Bwizibwera Police Station pending further investigations.
Sources within the district administration said investigators are expected to scrutinize the processes through which the land was allocated, determine whether district procedures were followed, and establish whether the district suffered any loss as a result of the transactions.
The development has sent shockwaves through Mbarara District’s leadership, with some councilors calling for a comprehensive audit of all district land transactions conducted in recent years.
Public land has increasingly become a source of conflict in local governments across Uganda, with several districts facing accusations of illegal allocations, encroachment, and questionable transfers to private and public entities.
The arrest of the district’s top accounting officer is likely to intensify scrutiny of how local governments manage public assets and could trigger wider investigations into land administration practices within Mbarara District.
Police had not yet issued an official statement on the arrest by press time, while Muhwezi’s side of the story was not immediately available. Investigations remain ongoing.
