The Anti-Corruption Court has committed Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Gorreti Kitutu and two of her co-accused to the High Court to face trial on charges related to loss of public property arising from the diversion of the iron sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program.
Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro issued the commitment order on Thursday, following the completion of inquiries by the prosecution, led by State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya. The court was informed that Kitutu’s brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, who sought to halt the trial on jurisdiction grounds, had already lost the legal battle in a higher court.
According to the prosecution, between June 2022 and January 2023 at the Office of the Prime Minister’s Stores in Namanve, Mukono District, Kitutu caused the loss of public property. She is accused of diverting 9,000 pre-painted iron sheets of Gauge 28, originally intended for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program, for her own benefit and that of third parties. It is believed that such actions resulted in the loss of the aforementioned property.
Furthermore, in January 2023, Kitutu and her personal assistant Joshua Abaho are alleged to have diverted 5,500 iron sheets for unrelated purposes, which ended up being received by third parties. Abaho, as the receiver, had the duty to keep the sheets in good and safe custody.
Naboya, Kitutu’s brother, is accused of receiving 100 pieces of iron sheets in Namisindwa district, which were part of the sheets that the Minister and Abaho were accused of diverting.
State Attorney Muwaganya informed the court that the investigations were complete and submitted the indictment and relevant documents summarizing the evidence to be relied upon by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in prosecuting the trio. These documents include OPM delivery notes and vouchers, reports on the recovery of exhibits, internal memos, store requisition and approval vouchers, ledger book extracts, handwriting expert reports, a digital forensic report, and minutes of the senior top management committee meeting for OPM, among others.
The defendants, who are currently out on bail, will await a date from the High Court for the commencement of their trial.
It is worth noting that in April, State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu was also committed to the High Court for trial on charges related to dealing with suspect property.
Last week, the DPP announced the closure of 17 case files pertaining to suspects implicated in the iron sheets scandal due to insufficient evidence.