KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Minister for Karamoja Affairs Ms Mary Goretti Kitutu has been given until Tuesday to appear before the committee investigating the Karamoja Iron Sheets scandal or face arrest.
Hon Jesca Ababiku, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs says the minister has on two separate occasions failed to appear before the Committee to help with the investigation without giving a sounding reason.
“We gave her two invites and she didn’t turn up yet it was based on her request. [On Friday last week,] she gave an excuse that she [was] appearing before CID (Criminal Investigation Directorate). We know what is happening around us. There are other parallel investigations which are also ongoing,” Ms Ababiku said last Friday.
“We have been giving her opportunities based on her request so we strongly believe that she will appear latest Tuesday. If she fails, we shall invoke the rules. Yes, we shall because she is a primary witness and she is the minister in charge of the Karamoja,” she added.
Ms Ababiku further revealed that her Committee was yet to meet about eight ministers before they start writing their report tomorrow.
The demand for the minister’s appearance follows the Committee’s tight deadline to prepare a comprehensive report as the legislators are already behind schedule.
The report was expected to be presented on the floor of Parliament last month.
Ms Kitutu last appeared before the committee on March 3 and apologised over the diversion of iron sheets.
Last Friday, she was meant to make another appearance to clarify the names of the alleged beneficiaries of the iron sheets.
The Scandal
In an October 13, 2022, internal memo to the under-secretary, Karamoja Affairs minister Kitutu named 12 senior and junior ministers and 16 MPs from the sub-region as beneficiaries of the roofing materials. Also on the list are 23 legislators from Bugisu Sub-region.
A separate hand-written list dated March 24, shows that some 172 institutions and individuals, among them ministers, legislators, religious and chief administrative officers, received an average of 50-800 pieces each.
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