The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has secured a conviction against Bududa District Woman Member of Parliament and former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Hon. Nandutu Agnes, for the offence of dealing with suspect property.
The Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, presided over by Lady Justice Jane Okuo, delivered the ruling on Wednesday, finding Nandutu guilty following a detailed trial.
Court heard that between June and July 2022, Nandutu received and retained 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister,” despite having reason to believe they had been irregularly obtained. The iron sheets were part of a government programme intended to support vulnerable communities in the Karamoja sub-region.
At the time, Nandutu served both as Bududa District Woman MP and Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs under the Office of the Prime Minister. The programme, funded under a supplementary budget of about Shs39.94 billion for the 2021/2022 financial year, aimed at disarmament and community empowerment through the distribution of relief items, including iron sheets.
Investigations revealed that although 10,000 iron sheets had been requisitioned for a presidential launch in Moroto District, only 1,000 were officially issued, leaving a balance in the stores. Evidence presented in court showed that Nandutu later accepted an allocation of 2,000 iron sheets from this balance, purportedly for landslide victims.
On June 23, 2022, she facilitated the collection of the iron sheets by providing transport funds and directing her political assistant to pick them from the OPM stores in Namanve.
The items were first taken to a private residence in Wakiso District for verification 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.
The court ruled that she knowingly received and retained government property that had been unlawfully diverted from a public programme meant for vulnerable beneficiaries, thereby committing an offence under Section 21A(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.
The prosecution was led by Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu and Senior State Attorney Innocent Aleto of the ODPP.
Following the conviction, court cancelled Nandutu’s bail. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2026.
The ODPP says the conviction underscores the government’s commitment to fighting corruption and sends a clear warning that abuse of public resources will attract firm legal consequences, regardless of one’s position.
