Nandutu pins ex-minister Kitutu over iron sheets scandal

Former junior Karamoja Affairs minister, Agnes Nandutu, has shifted the blame onto her former senior, Mary Gorretti Kitutu, for her role in the ongoing iron sheets theft scandal trial.

Appearing before the Anti-Corruption court on Friday, Nandutu told acting principal judge, Jane Okuo Kajuga, that Kitutu alienated her from the very beginning, leaving her in the dark about ministerial operations despite being new in both parliament and cabinet.

The court had in January ruled that Nandutu had a case to answer and ordered her to present her defence. However, proceedings were delayed due to her reported ill health and the recent death of her father.

Her defence only began last week following medical clearance. Nandutu is facing a charge of dealing in suspect property, stemming from the diversion of iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja. She is accused of receiving and possessing over 1,600 iron sheets at her farm in Mukono, with some 383 sheets reportedly unaccounted for.

During her defence, Nandutu narrated her personal and professional background, including her long career in journalism and her work as a farmer and single mother of 20 children, seven of whom are her own and the rest orphans from her late brother.

Judge Kajuga reminded her to confine her testimony to the charges at hand. She then turned to the strained working relationship with Kitutu, alleging that Kitutu refused to mentor or communicate with her, undermining her ministerial role.

“The person [Kitutu] who was fighting me could not direct me on how to handle. But having been a senior journalist who had worked with different ministers, I said I would get help from other ministers. I tried to call her [Kitutu], but she didn’t pick up my calls or answer my messages. It was a clear indication that she was not going to work with me,” Nandutu said.

She claimed Kitutu blocked her efforts to implement development projects, such as planting grapes, olives, and palm trees in Karamoja, a project she inherited from former minister Moses Kizige.

Nandutu further alleged that Kitutu directed the ministry technical staff not to spend any more funds in Karamoja, even while she was in a Covid-19 quarantine, further frustrating her mandate.

She said her exclusion forced her to seek guidance from other ministers she had previously interacted with as a journalist, claiming her actions were born out of necessity, not misconduct.

The prosecution earlier presented testimony from Kitutu’s then-personal assistant, Joshua Abaho, who said he was instructed to deliver iron sheets to Nandutu, despite not being part of the official meeting that allocated them.

Detective Superintendent Winfred Nakatudde testified that 1,617 sheets were found at Nandutu’s Mukono farm. The case, part of the wider iron sheets scandal, also implicates state minister for Economic Planning, Amos Lugoloobi, and Kitutu herself, whose trial was paused pending an appeal over claims of torture while in state custody.

The Inspectorate of Government accuses Kitutu of failing to implement peacebuilding projects in Karamoja between February and June 2022, allegedly causing a Shs 1.5 billion financial loss. Nandutu will continue her defence on July 3.