Oyam South MP Ishaa Otto has accused the Lands Minister, Daniel Omara Atubo, of grabbing land belonging to the Internally Displaced Persons in his constituency.

Mr Otto told a news conference at Parliament on Friday that at least 138 families were left homeless after Mr Atubo fenced off an estimated 30 acres in Nora village in Aber Sub-country to do private farming.

"As I talk, Minister Atubo has chased people away from their farmland, leaving thousands homeless and desperate," Mr Otto said. "He is also using his office to connive with land grabbers to acquire an adjacent land almost 1,000 acres by issuing them with bogus land title deeds."

"It became evident that after the IDPs from Moroto and Otuke returned to their homes, the Minister immediately took control yet this land belongs to the local people in Oyam and not Otuke," Mr Otto said.

"It's a shame that the lands minister is using his office to influence the issuance of illegal land titles to these land grabbers and at the same time acquiring land fraudulently in areas that had been left by the IDPs leaving them landless and very desperate," Mr Otto's press statement reads in part.

When contacted on Saturday, Mr Atubo conceded owning land in Nora area, but denied any wrongdoing. "It's true I own some land in that area, but I have never grabbed it from anybody," Mr Atubo said. "Nobody has complained to me, Mr Otto is just doing cheap politics, I will challenge him to show evidence."

The accusations labelled against the lands minister, will however, directly complicate the government push for controversial amendments to the Land Act 1998, seeking to curb the rampant illegal evictions across the country.

Although Mr Atubo challenged Mr Otto to parade claimants, the Oyam South MP, displayed victims' testimonies, insisting that the land in question was theirs but had for long been temporarily occupied by displaced persons from Otuke (Mr Atubo's Constituency) and Moroto counties.

Mr Otto also claims that Mr Atubo helped the Lira NRM chairperson, Mr Sam Engola, to acquire up to 1,000 acres of land in Oyam District.