UCAA, Lira residents clash over land for proposed international airport

Tensions escalated on October 6, 2024, when UCAA reportedly demarcated the land as preparations for the proposed airport gathered pace.

Residents became more suspicious after what they described as a further drone survey conducted by UCAA on October 17 that year.

Anthony Ojuka, a former Lira District LC5 councillor and Anai resident, said residents later discovered that UCAA had obtained a land title that they believe overlaps existing private titles.

“We later learnt that UCAA had obtained a land title that directly overrides existing private titles held by more than 26 members of the community,” Ojuka said on Monday.

The dispute has since moved to court.

On March 23, 2026, 68 residents sued UCAA and the Lira City Land Board at the High Court in Lira, seeking to stop what they describe as encroachment on their land.

Through Okwi and Company Advocates, the residents allege that UCAA fraudulently obtained a title for the airport that extends into privately owned land.

They also claim the UCAA title extends beyond Lira City into neighbouring Kole District, covering parts of Atilem and Akuriluba cells in Akalo Town Council, as well as Bungabunga and Ireda villages in Akalo Sub-county.

The residents further allege that an independent survey conducted by Geoline Enterprise found the UCAA title overlapping the Lira-Apac Highway road reserve, which they argue makes the title unlawful.

Of the 68 people who filed the case, 25 reportedly hold government-issued land title certificates covering parcels they say are now engulfed by the UCAA title.

On June 8, the High Court directed the parties to pursue mediation for three months.

The parties are expected back in court on September 8 to report on the progress of the mediation.

Robert Okello Ayo, secretary of the Lira City Land Board and city spokesperson, said authorities remain committed to having the airport built in Anai because of its expected economic benefits to Lango.

“We will find an amicable way forward to handle the issues highlighted by the project-affected persons,” he said.

The dispute has also drawn political attention.

On August 9, members of the Lango Parliamentary Group, led by chairperson Patrick Ogwang Obura, attempted to visit the disputed land but were stopped by the security committee.

Lawrence Egole, Lira Resident City Commissioner and head of the city security committee, said such visits could create anxiety among people affected by the project.

Residents say they are not opposed to the airport itself.

Instead, they say the dispute is about the expansion of the original airport boundary, the process used to acquire additional land and the absence of adequate consultation and compensation.

A private land developer in Anai, who asked not to be named, said there was a need for individual consultations so that private developments could be aligned with the government’s airport master plan.

“All of a sudden, we are inside where the airport is supposed to be. But then us, people who are looking at development — has anybody been able to come to us, to me, to say, ‘This is the master plan of the development of the airport’?” she asked.

She said some private facilities had already been designed with the proposed airport in mind and should be considered in the wider development plan.

Landowners maintain that the original airport land, which residents say was demarcated decades ago, has never been contested.

Their concern, they say, is the subsequent expansion of the boundaries for a much larger airport project.

“There is clearly land that was demarcated, and it’s never been contested — nothing was being done about that land, but the community knows this is airport land,” one landowner said.

She added that the dispute arose because the expansion was not adequately discussed with affected residents.

“A lot bigger means there has to be a lot more land. So from the original demarcation, they had to expand and that expansion was not consultative. That’s the main thing,” she said.

Another landowner said the alleged acquisition of titles overlapping existing private titles had deepened anxiety among residents, who fear their land rights could be lost without adequate notice or compensation.

Fred Jalameso, MP for Ajuri County, said affected residents were holding out because they had not been offered compensation.

Despite the dispute, business leaders in Lango say the region broadly supports the proposed airport.

Morris Chris Ongom, director of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lango Chapter, said the project could transform the region’s economy but warned that development should not come at the expense of residents whose land and livelihoods are affected.

“The concerns being raised by some residents are therefore not necessarily about opposing the airport itself. Much of the contention relates to land ownership, boundaries, compensation, consultation and confidence in the process,” Ongom said.

He said one of the allegations requiring verification was that the UCAA title had been superimposed on or extended into parcels covered by other land titles outside the original airport boundary demarcated in 1968.

“That is a serious claim that should not be settled through speculation or confrontation,” Ongom said.

He proposed a joint verification involving authorities and affected landowners to examine historical survey records, the 1968/69 boundary, subsequent surveys, existing titles and the current situation on the ground.

“For me, this is fundamentally a trust and process issue. A major public investment such as an international airport requires not only land and infrastructure, but also the confidence and social support of the community,” he said.

Ongom said the airport could improve regional and international connectivity, attract investment, support agricultural and manufactured exports, stimulate tourism and create employment.

He said it could also anchor a wider economic corridor involving aviation, logistics, agro-processing, tourism, hospitality, business services, technology and industrial development.

“That is why I believe we should not have to choose between the airport and the people of Anai… we must find a way to achieve both,” he said.

He called for legitimate land claims to be investigated, affected residents to be heard and compensation and resettlement processes to be transparent, fair and timely.

Ongom also proposed a multi-stakeholder framework bringing together UCAA, Lira City Council, affected landowners, the Lango Cultural Institution, religious leaders, the business community and other stakeholders.

The aim, he said, should be to resolve outstanding land and compensation issues while rebuilding confidence in a project that its supporters believe could reshape Lira’s economic prospects.