Akon City development hangs in the balance

While speaking at a press conference in April, Akon said the new futuristic city would be coming to Uganda in the coming years with the support of the Ugandan government. The Uganda government promised to offer one square mile of land towards constructing Akon City.

Earlier this month, the Ugandan government through its Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, had allocated land in Mukono to the American rapper to start setting up his Akon City.

The government last year said through the Ministry of Lands that it would give Akon a place suitable in Uganda that has not less than 1 square mile.

The Uganda Land Commission this month handed over a land title to Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba for the land which has been allocated to Akon for the Akon City development.

However, a local investor from Mukono known as Mohammed Katongole has come out to challenge this program of the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) gifting of over 640 acres to Akon.

Akon, on visiting Uganda last year, promised to invest over six billion dollars in the city project.

Katongole, the CEO of Cash Value Uganda Ltd, a company that looks for investors, told the press that for a period of time he has been trying to acquire this land but in vain. He says he spent a lot of money in the process of buying off different Bibanja holders and tenants.

According to him, it was so unfair getting the news from the media that ULC had handed over the land title to Minister of Lands Judith Nabakooba, who would then parcel it out to Akon for the Akon City development.

Katongole says if ULC wants the land to give it to someone else, let them pay him the same money he has used during the time he tried to get ownership.

He adds that initially ULC didn’t know about the land's existence and it was him that took the land commision to view the land and so it would be unfair to give it to Akon.

Katongole advises the ULC to at least divide the land so he takes 300 acres and the remaining be gifted to Akon. He says he was born and raised in Uganda, so he loves Uganda more than Akon.

If his advice is not heeded, he says he will go to court.

Initially, he had applied for 500 acres back in 2020 to put up a recreation center. In response to his application, he was told he would get a reply after two weeks. However, it’s been over a year now and he still has no response.

Katongole says his file also got lost and the ULC person has been trying to look for it but can’t find it anywhere.

The land where Akon City is to be built is located at Muvo in Buleebi village in Mpunge sub-county Mukono district and currently it hosts over 2,000 residents, according to the chairman LC 3.

In a press conference when he visited Uganda, Akon said the city will have different developments like shopping malls, cinema halls, stadiums and recreational centers, and these will be trading using the cryptocurrency called Akoin.

According to him, the development is expected to be completed, if all goes well, by 2036.