Former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Agnes Nandutu, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of diverting government iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in the Karamoja sub-region.
The Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Nandutu illegally obtained and kept 2,000 iron sheets, knowing they were not officially allocated to her and had been diverted from a public relief programme.
As part of the sentence, she has also been barred from holding any public office for 10 years. She has 14 days to appeal the ruling.
The case originates from a government programme under the Office of the Prime Minister aimed at supporting disarmament and assisting vulnerable communities in Karamoja. The programme, funded with about Shs39.94 billion in the 2021/2022 financial year, included the distribution of iron sheets and other relief items.
Court proceedings revealed that over 95,000 iron sheets were procured and stored in Namanve. In June 2022, 10,000 sheets were requested for a presidential event in Moroto, but only 1,000 were officially issued, leaving thousands unaccounted for.
Shortly after attending the event, Nandutu was reportedly informed that 2,000 iron sheets had been set aside for her, allegedly for landslide victims. The court found that she accepted the offer without verifying its legitimacy.
Evidence showed she later facilitated their collection by providing transport money and instructing her aide to pick them up from the Namanve stores. The sheets were first taken to a private residence in Wakiso District for inspection, before being moved to her home in Seeta, Mukono District, where they remained under her control.
Before sentencing, Nandutu apologized in court, saying she had been misled into the offence. She told the court she had returned and paid for the iron sheets, except for those that went missing while she was in police custody. She also asked for a non-custodial sentence, citing ill health, her role as a single mother of seven, and responsibility for her elderly mother.
Despite her plea, the court handed down a custodial sentence, emphasizing accountability in the misuse of public resources.
