Uganda charges second minister in major corruption scandal

KAMPALA, Uganda

Uganda has remanded to prison another minister in the mabati (iron sheets) scandal that saw Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu taken into custody.

State Minister for Planning Amos Lugoloobi (C)

State Minister for Planning Amos Lugoloobi has been remanded to Luzira Prison until April 20, when he will be arraigned following his arrest over the Karamoja iron sheets scandal.

He was arrested on Friday over the mismanagement of iron sheets meant for the Karachunas (youth warriors) in Karamoja.

Some 14,500 iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people in Karamoja are reported to have been diverted fraudulently by government officials.

Mr Lugoloobi is alleged to have been on his way to Entebbe International Airport when security operatives intercepted him and detained him at Kira Division Police Station until he was brought to court on Monday.

He was arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court and charged with two counts of dealing with suspect property contrary to the anti-graft law.

The State prosecution said that Mr Lugoloobi, on July 14, 2022, and February 2023, at OPM Stores in Namanve in Mukono District and at different places in Matugga, Wakiso District and Ntenjeru North Constituency in Kayunga District, dealt with government property, to wit; 400 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister”, believed to have been acquired as a result of loss of public property, an offence under section 10(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.

Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu

In the second count, the prosecution said Mr Lugoloobi, between February 1, 2023, and March 16, 2023, at OPM Stores in Namanve and at different places in Matugga, Wakiso District and Ntenjeru Constituency, Kayunga District, he handled suspect property, that is, 300 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister”.

The minister pleaded not guilty to both counts.

His attempt to file for bail suffered a blow when the magistrate said he needed more time to peruse the documents his lawyers had submitted to the court.

Mr Lugoloobi, who is also the Ntenjeru North County MP, reportedly received 600 iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people in Karamoja.

He was one of the ministers who last Friday returned iron sheets to the Office of the Prime Minister in Namanve, following President Yoweri Museveni’s orders to his cabinet to take back the iron sheets or pay in cash the equivalent.

In February, the minister admitted to using some of the iron sheets to roof a shed for his goats on his farm in Misanga Village, Bbaale Sub-county in Kayunga District.

He later removed them after a public outcry over the alleged diversion of the iron sheets.

Mr Lugoloobi is the second minister to be arrested over the mismanagement of the building materials.

Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu, who is at the centre of the scandal, was last Friday released on a cash bail of Ush10 million (about $2,700) after spending a week in Luzira prison.