KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Mary Goretti Kitutu has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Directorate after refusing to take oaths on allegations of mismanaging relief items that were meant for the vulnerable in the Karamoja region.
Kitutu’s arrest came exactly a day after Fred Enanga the police spokesperson said the force had completed inquiries into the multi-billion Karamoja iron sheets scandal in which senior government officials have been named.
The minister had earlier been warned by the Presidential Affairs Committee probing the alleged mismanagement of items to appear before the MPs by Tuesday (yesterday) or face arrest.
However, when she appeared before the committee to beat the set ultimatum, Kitutu declined to take the oath on irregularly sharing iron sheets and the committee chairperson Ms Jesca Ababiku immediately handed her over to Parliament CID teams to record a statement even as a parallel ongoing inquiry proceeded on.
A source present at the parliament confirmed to this publication that after she had recorded her statement at Parliament, the minister has whisked away to CID headquarters.
“She was supposed to have appeared and recorded a statement with us last week, but she kept dodging us. We have since been recording statements from others on charges of abuse of office, theft and diversion among other charges.”
By 7:00 pm yesterday, the minister had not yet been released from CID where she was still recording her statement. It was not yet clear whether she would be released on bond or would be detained.
Background
Minister Kitutu’s woes began on February 13, 2023, when her relatives were arrested by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) in Namisindwa district and thousands of iron sheets were recovered. The Minister is accused of failing to deliver iron sheets and other relief items meant for Karamoja, some of which she allegedly diverted to non-intended beneficiaries.
The thousands of iron sheets were meant to help resettle Karimojong warriors (Karachuna) as part of the government’s efforts to improve livelihoods alongside its disarmament programme in the troubled Karamoja sub-region.
A subsequent report from the inventory section at the OPM detailed how the iron sheets that were meant for Karamoja were released and shared with the ministers.
The report states that on January 25, 2023, the stores unit at the OPM received authorisation from the undersecretary to release 12,200 G28 corrugated pre-painted iron sheets to OPM.
“The stores unit, thereafter, received phone calls from the office of the Minister for Karamoja Affairs through her personal assistant and senior assistant secretary Karamoja Affairs informing us that he will be sending beneficiaries of the 12,200 iron sheets to pick their consignment and that he will be guiding on the distribution from time to time,” the reports states.
In the report, the senior inventory management officer said: “It is true we based on verbal and WhatsApp communication of the Personal Assistant (PA) to Kitutu to inform our decision to issue to the ministers because we had no reason to doubt the communication from a fellow officer who works directly with the Minister for Karamoja Affairs,” the report indicated.
Over 15 ministers, together with Vice-President Jessica Alupo, Parliament Speaker Anita Among and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja have already recorded statements over the iron sheet saga.
On Monday, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said they had completed their investigations and were now writing a report that would be submitted to the Directorate of Public Prosecution for advice on what charges to prefer.
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