Agnes Nandutu, Former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, has been sentenced to four years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Court after being found guilty of diverting 2,000 iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
Trial judge Jane Okuo Kajuga ruled that the time Nandutu spent on remand will be deducted from her sentence. The court also ordered that all recovered iron sheets be returned and barred her from holding public office for ten years, citing the gravity of the offence and findings from the offence impact assessment report.
During earlier proceedings, Nandutu had pleaded for a non-custodial sentence, citing ill health and family responsibilities. She told court she suffers from a lung condition that occasionally causes her to lose consciousness and noted that she is a single mother of seven children, as well as the sole caregiver to her 81-year-old mother. She also apologized for her role in the scandal and sought forgiveness from the people of Karamoja, the President, and her constituents.
In mitigation, Nandutu said she had returned the iron sheets and compensated for those that were missing, urging the court to consider this as a basis for leniency. However, the prosecution opposed a lighter sentence, arguing that the iron sheets remained in her possession for nine months, indicating premeditation. It further submitted that the items were only returned after police intervention, and recommended a sentence of no less than five years.
After hearing submissions from both sides, the court adjourned earlier in the day before delivering its sentence in the afternoon.
On April 8, 2026, Justice Okuo convicted Nandutu of dealing with suspect property contrary to Section 21A(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, following prosecution by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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 to support disarmament and community empowerment efforts in the Karamoja sub-region.
Evidence showed that out of 95,044 iron sheets stored in Namanve, a requisition of 10,000 sheets was made for a presidential launch in Moroto District, but only 1,000 were officially issued, leaving a significant surplus.
According to the prosecution, 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.
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 initially delivered to a private residence in Wakiso District 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.
