Court advises Kitutu, co-accused to consider plea bargain

Justice David Makumbi of the Anti-Corruption Court has scheduled November 4 for a pre-trial hearing in the case against former Karamoja Affairs minister Mary Goretti Kitutu and her co-accused over the alleged diversion of 14,500 iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.

Kitutu and her former senior assistant secretary, Joshua Abaho, face two counts of causing loss of public property involving 9,000 and 5,500 iron sheets, respectively, and a count of conspiracy to defraud. The prosecution alleges that the offences were committed between June 2022 and January 2023.

Kitutu’s brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, is separately accused of receiving 100 iron sheets at Situmi Village in Namisindwa District, allegedly knowing that the government property had been unlawfully obtained.

The court has advised the accused to consider a plea bargain if they are willing to accept responsibility for the alleged offences. The matter is also scheduled for hearing on December 2.

The case stems from the controversial Karamoja iron sheets scandal, in which government roofing materials procured for vulnerable communities were allegedly diverted to politicians and other officials instead of reaching the intended beneficiaries.

The iron sheets, marked “Office of the Prime Minister”, were procured under a government programme intended to support vulnerable households in Karamoja, one of Uganda’s most disadvantaged regions.

The scandal attracted national attention in 2023 after investigations revealed that several senior government officials had received iron sheets intended for the region. The controversy triggered investigations and prosecutions involving three ministers, including Kitutu, former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu and State Minister for Finance Amos Lugoloobi.

Nandutu was convicted on April 8, 2026, for dealing with suspect property after the court found that she had received and retained 2,000 government iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.

On April 10, 2026, Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga sentenced Nandutu to four years in prison and barred her from holding public office for 10 years. The court also ordered the return of recovered iron sheets, with the period she had spent on remand to be deducted from her sentence.

Lugoloobi, who had been accused of receiving 700 iron sheets and using some to roof an animal shelter at his farm in Kayunga District, was discharged after the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the charges against him in November 2025. The withdrawal ended the proceedings against him without a conviction.

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