By Spy Uganda
Agnes Nandutu, the Women Member of Parliament for Bududa district was on Wednesday, 19 April 2023 charged with dealing with suspect property contrary to section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act,2009 (As Amended) before she was committed to High Court for trial.
The Anti-Corruption Court grade one magistrate, Esther Asiimwe, said she could not hear her bail application following her committal.
Nandutu is suspected to be among those who shared 12,000 iron sheets which have landed more than one dozen ministers and government officials in hot water.
Initial investigations by police discovered that Nandutu received 1,000 iron sheets. She recently returned the sheets to government stores and went into hiding until she turned herself over to the police and was arrested.
Cabinet Minister for Karamoja Affairs Mary Kitutu was jailed April 6 in the same case. Then on April 17, Minister of State for Finance Planning Amos Lugoloobi was sent to prison for stealing iron sheets.
President Yoweri Museveni, whose government is often accused of lacking the political will to stem corruption, has ordered detectives to investigate all the case and indict those deemed responsible for diverting thousands of metallic roofing sheets.
Official corruption is rampant in this East African country, but officials caught in major scandals rarely face criminal charges.
“The charges are highly welcome as we have been having a culture of impunity because (the suspects) have godfathers in the system,” said Marlon Agaba, executive director of the pressure group Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda. “We have known government officials to steal billions of shillings, not stealing iron sheets from the poor.”
