The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court has convicted outgoing Bududa District Woman Member of Parliament Agnes Nandutu for her role in the illegal acquisition and possession of government iron sheets intended for ulnerable Karachuna in Karamoja.
Nandutu, who also served as Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, was found guilty of dealing with suspect property contrary to Section 21A(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.
The conviction was delivered by Justice Jane Okuo on April 8, 2026, following a prosecution led by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Court heard that between June and July 2022, Nandutu received and retained 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister,” knowing or having reason to believe they had been irregularly obtained from a government programme.
The iron sheets were part of a wider consignment procured under a supplementary budget of approximately Shs39.94 billion for the 2021/2022 financial year.
The programme, implemented under the Office of the Prime Minister, was intended to support disarmament and community empowerment efforts in the Karamoja sub-region by distributing relief items to vulnerable populations.
Evidence presented in court showed that out of 95,044 iron sheets procured and stored in Namanve, a requisition of 10,000 sheets was made for a presidential launch in Moroto District.
However, only 1,000 sheets were officially issued, leaving a significant surplus in storage.
According to the prosecution, Nandutu was informed by the Minister for Karamoja Affairs that 2,000 iron sheets had been allocated to her, allegedly for landslide victims.
She accepted the allocation and facilitated their collection.
On June 23, 2022, she provided transport funds and directed her political assistant to pick up the iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister stores.
The consignment was first delivered to a private residence in Wakiso District, where she verified it, before being transferred to her home in Seeta, Mukono District.
Investigations in March 2023 revealed that Nandutu recorded a statement with police and led authorities to her farm, where the Evidence Response Team recovered 1,617 iron sheets.
She was unable to account for the remaining 383.
The court concluded that she knowingly received and retained government property that had been unlawfully diverted from a public programme intended to benefit vulnerable communities.
Following the conviction, the court cancelled her bail.
She is expected to return to court for sentencing on April 10, 2026.
The prosecution was handled by Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu and Senior State Attorney Innocent Aleto of the ODPP.
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