The minister for Karamoja affairs, Mary Kitutu, has been arrested by the police in Uganda on suspicion of stealing iron sheets that were meant for vulnerable people in the Karamoja region.
KAMPALA, UGANDA | NOW THEN DIGITAL — Uganda’s Minister for Karamoja affairs, Mary Goretti Kitutu, has been arrested by police on charges of stealing iron sheets that were intended for vulnerable individuals in the Karamoja region.
- Uganda’s Cabinet Minister, Mary Goretti Kitutu, has been taken into police custody for alleged theft of Karamoja iron sheets, according to sources. The arrest of the Minister, who previously served as the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, has sent shockwaves through the nation’s political landscape.
- Whistleblowers informed the police that the minister’s relatives were selling the iron sheets, some of which had the words ‘For Karamoja, Not for sale’ written on them. Kitutu’s mother and two brothers were caught by police red-handed, selling the iron sheets.
- Karamoja, a region located in northeastern Uganda, is home to some of the poorest people in the country, and it was for this reason that the government decided to distribute the iron sheets to them for free.
- The police investigation into the misappropriation of these iron sheets is ongoing.
The arrest was ordered by members of a parliamentary select committee investigating the misappropriation of the iron sheets. The committee had asked Kitutu to provide evidence regarding the offense, but she refused to do so on oath.
Police have revealed that Kitutu had also been evasive, ignoring multiple summonses to respond to queries related to the iron sheets. Authorities are now investigating other government officials who received iron sheets from the minister.
The situation arose after Kitutu had requested 12,200 iron sheets to be distributed to poor individuals in Karamoja. However, rather than distributing them as intended, the minister reportedly shared some with other ministers and senior government officials, while the remainder was taken to her village home.
”In an internal memo dated January 12th of this year, the minister wrote to the office of the Prime Minister Undersecretary for Finance and Administration, Geoffrey Sseremba, requesting 12,200 iron sheets to be distributed to the poor people of Karamoja. The iron sheets were given to her, but they never reached the intended recipients.”
Whistleblowers alerted police that the minister’s relatives were selling the iron sheets, with some even having “For Karamoja, Not for sale” written on them.
The Karamoja region, located in northeastern Uganda, is home to the country’s poorest individuals, and the government had provided the iron sheets as part of efforts to improve their living conditions.
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