NATIONAL: State Minister for Karamoja Agnes Nandutu has on Wednesday afternoon been charged with dealing with suspect property contrary to section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act,2009 before she was committed to High Court for trial.
Nandutu who was detained over the Karamoja iron sheet scandal on Tuesday had on Wednesday appeared before the Anti-Corruption Court for a case hearing and bail application.
However, the bail application failed after the trial Judge Esther Asiimwe received an order from the Director of Public Prosecution – DPP to have her tried in the High Court.
Nandutu protested the decision noting that, “I’ve been baptized by fire. Why should [I] be committed to the High Court when the lower court has the mandate to deal with this,?
She was remanded to Luzira Prison until May 3, 2023 when she’s expected to appear
Nandutu joins the State Minister for Finance and Planning Amos Lugoloobi who is on remand in Luzira over the same having been denied court bail on Monday.
The minister of Karamoja affairs, Mary Kitutu Goretti, was the first minister to get arrested in the scandal but later secured a court bail after spending a week in jail.
The said iron sheets were part of relief material that the government procured through the OPM for vulnerable populations in Karamoja, Teso, Northern Uganda, Luweero Triangle, Bunyoro sub-regions.