Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Merry Goretti Kitutu, and her brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, have been remanded in Luzira prison until April 12 for diverting 9000 iron sheets for vulnerable people in Karamoja.
The minister and her brother are charged alongside Joshua Abaho, the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs Office of the Prime Minister.
According to the charge sheet, Kitutu allegedly caused a loss of public property between June 2022 and January 2023 by diverting 9,000 pre-painted iron sheets intended for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program to her own benefit and that of third parties.
It is also alleged that in January 2023, Kitutu diverted 5,500 iron sheets, and her brother received 100 of them in Namisindwa district.
Kitutu’s Assistant Secretary is also charged for his alleged role in using his office to divert the iron sheets for unrelated purposes, resulting in their receipt by third parties, even though he was charged with keeping them in safe custody as the receiver.
On Wednesday, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) sanctioned charges of corruption and conspiracy to commit a felony against Kitutu and directed the police, who had been holding the Minister in custody for the last two days, to produce her in court.
However, while appearing before the Anti-Corruption court this afternoon, the minister pleaded not guilty.
“I have heard and understood the charge; it is not true and I am not guilty,” Kitutu said.
Her lawyers applied for bail on grounds that she is suffering from hypertensive heart disease with left ventricle stiffness.
However, the court decided to push the case to April 12 for a ruling on the minister’s bail application.