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Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Agnes Nandutu, for dealing with suspect property in a high-profile case involving the diversion of 2,000 iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga ruled that Nandutu had sufficient reason to believe the materials were obtained through a corrupt process, noting they were stored at her private farm for months instead of being distributed.
The court dismissed her defense that the sheets were meant for landslide victims in Bududa, citing a lack of documentation and credible authorization.
Evidence showed the iron sheets were earmarked for vulnerable persons under a government program, and no formal request or allocation supported their diversion. The judge also rejected claims of political miscommunication and marginalization within the ministry.
The prosecution successfully argued that the 2,000 iron sheets, part of a specialized consignment intended for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program, were diverted for personal use.
Part of the evidence showed Nandutu received the sheets in June 2022 but kept them with a political assistant for a month before moving them to her private farm.
Prosecution witnesses from the ledger extract also showed the iron sheets were marked for “vulnerable persons”, yet Nandutu claimed they were intended for landslide victims in her constituency, Bududa.
The judge also noted that there was no documentary evidence, no formal request to the permanent secretary, and no departmental allocation justifying the release of the specific sheets to the Bududa region.
Although Nandutu, in her defence team, argued that the prosecution relied on assumptions rather than concrete evidence of “knowledge”, their arguments focused on the alleged political misdirection, professional marginalisation, and hostile environment, which the judge quashed.
Nandutu testified that she was informed by her senior minister, Mary Goretti Kitutu, that iron sheets had been allocated for the Bugisu/Bududa region. She also claimed she was “sidelined” in the ministry, with her duties restricted strictly to the education sector, meaning she was unaware of the broader Karamoja budget and work plans.
The defense pointed to “bad blood” between Nandutu and Kitutu as a reason for poor communication. Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga dismantled the defense’s claims, saying that the court found that the iron sheets were never intended for Bududa.
The court noted that while the Bududa District Disaster Management Committee had verified victims, they testified that they only learned Nandutu possessed iron sheets when the scandal broke.
“It is shocking how casually the 2,000 iron sheets were allocated with no requisition… no documentary evidence indicating the purpose,” Justice Okuo noted.
Justice Okuo ruled that as a minister of state, Nandutu was privy to the ministry’s supplementary budget and the launch of the Karamoja program.
The claim that she was relegated to “education only” was debunked by Joshua, a technical officer who testified he was assigned to guide her through the entire ministry’s operations.
The court found the delay in distributing the iron sheets from June until their recovery by the police to be “unjustifiable”. If they were truly meant for disaster victims, the Justice Okuo reasoned, they would not have been stored on a private farm for months.
The court also highlighted a logical inconsistency in the defence’s “bad blood” narrative.
The court assessors pointed out that if there was truly animosity between Nandutu and Minister Kitutu, it was highly improbable that Kitutu would “casually” gift her 2,000 iron sheets without formal paperwork.
“I find that the accused had more than sufficient reason to believe that the iron sheets were a result of diversion, which is a corrupt act… I accordingly convict the accused of the offense of dealing with suspect property, contrary to Section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.”
Nandutu was remanded to Luzira Prison, awaiting her sentence on Friday, April 10, 2026. Last week, court assessors advised the Anti-Corruption Court to find her guilty of charges arising from her alleged involvement in receiving iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people of Karamoja.
