Bududa District Woman MP and former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Agnes Nandutu, has pleaded for a lenient sentence over her involvement in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal.
“I am a first offender and, therefore, I ask for leniency. I have been in and out of hospital due to ill health,” she told the court.
Nandutu added that she is a single mother of seven school-going children and the sole provider for orphans left by her siblings, as well as her aging mother, who is about 80 years old.
“I was misled into this offence. I am apologetic to the appointing authority, the people of Karamoja, and the entire country,” Nandutu told court as she sought a non-custodial sentence.
She further stated that she returned and paid for all the iron sheets, except those that went missing while in police custody.
On Wednesday, the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, presided over by Lady Justice Jane Okuo, found Nandutu guilty over her role in the unlawful possession of iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
Court records indicate that between June and July 2022, Nandutu received and retained 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets of gauge 28 marked “Office of the Prime Minister.” The prosecution proved that she handled the items despite having reason to believe they had been irregularly obtained through the loss of public property.
At the time, Nandutu was serving as both Bududa District Woman MP and State Minister for Karamoja Affairs under the Office of the Prime Minister.
The ministry was implementing a government programme funded with about Shs39.94 billion in the 2021/2022 financial year to support disarmament and community empowerment in the Karamoja sub-region.
The programme involved the procurement and distribution of relief items, including 95,044 pre-painted iron sheets, which were stored at the Office of the Prime Minister’s facility in Namanve for onward distribution.
In June 2022, officials requisitioned 10,000 iron sheets to support the presidential launch of the distribution exercise in Moroto District. Although the request was approved, only 1,000 iron sheets were issued, leaving a balance of 9,000 in storage. Nandutu attended the launch held on June 13, 2022.
Evidence presented in court showed that shortly after the event, the then Minister for Karamoja Affairs informed Nandutu that 2,000 iron sheets had been allocated to her, reportedly for landslide victims. She accepted the allocation and facilitated their collection.
On June 23, 2022, Nandutu provided transport funds and directed her political assistant to pick up the iron sheets from the Namanve stores. The consignment was first delivered to a private residence in Wakiso District, where she reportedly verified the quantity, before being transferred to her residence in Seeta, Mukono District, on her instructions.
Investigations later revealed that during a police interview in March 2023, Nandutu confirmed the sequence of events and led investigators to her farm. A search by the Evidence Response Team recovered 1,617 iron sheets from the premises. She failed to account for the remaining 383 sheets.
