Former Karamoja Affairs Minister Agnes Nandutu Convicted Over Iron Sheets Scandal

KAMPALA –The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has secured a conviction against Agnes Nandutu, the Woman Member of Parliament for Bududa District and former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, for the offence of dealing with suspect property.

The conviction was handed down by the High Court of Uganda, presided over by Jane Okuo Kajuga.

Court findings established that between June and July 2022, Nandutu unlawfully received and retained 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets, gauge 28, marked “Office of the Prime Minister.” The materials were part of government property stored at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) facility in Namanve and were later transferred to her private residence in Mukono District.

At the time, Nandutu was serving under the Karamoja Affairs Ministry, which was implementing a government programme funded with approximately UGX 39.94 billion during the 2021/2022 financial year. The initiative was intended to support disarmament and community empowerment in the Karamoja sub-region through distribution of relief items, including iron sheets, to vulnerable communities.

Investigations revealed that the OPM had procured 95,044 iron sheets for the programme. In June 2022, 10,000 iron sheets were requisitioned for a presidential launch in Moroto District, although only 1,000 were officially issued, leaving a surplus in storage.

Shortly after the launch, Nandutu was informed that 2,000 iron sheets had been allocated to her, allegedly for landslide victims. She accepted the allocation and facilitated their collection by providing transport funds and directing her political assistant to pick them from the Namanve stores on June 23, 2022.

The iron sheets were initially delivered to a private residence in Wakiso District, where Nandutu reportedly verified them, before being transferred to her home in Seeta, Mukono District.

During investigations in March 2023, Nandutu recorded a statement with police and led investigators to her farm, where 1,617 iron sheets were recovered. She failed to account for the remaining 383 sheets.

The court ruled that she knowingly received and retained government property that had been irregularly diverted from a public programme intended for vulnerable beneficiaries, thereby violating Section 21A(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.

The prosecution was led by Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu and Senior State Attorney Innocent Aleto, both from the ODPP.

Following the conviction, the court cancelled Nandutu’s bail. She is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on April 10, 2026.

The ruling underscores the judiciary’s stance that abuse of public resources will not be tolerated, regardless of one’s position in government, and reinforces the ongoing fight against corruption in Uganda.