A Ugandan court charged a minister with multiple counts of corruption on Thursday, alleging that she seized metal roofing sheets intended for residents of the troubled Karamoja region in the northeast.
In nations where pervasive larceny and waste of public resources are tolerated, ministers are rarely prosecuted for corruption.
Karamoja is home to pastoral herdsmen who are subjected to regular droughts and catastrophic livestock assaults as a result of the region’s remote location along the Kenya-South Sudan border.
Karamoja Affairs Minister, Mary Goretti Kitutu faces numerous offenses, including “theft of public property” and “conspiracy to defraud.”
Kitutu is accused of removing 14,500 sheets of roofing iron “for her personal advantage and the benefit of third parties.”
According to the court documents, she pled not guilty to all charges against her. Kitutu has been detained and accused with a crime; her court date is April 12.
According to the state-run New Vision newspaper, three of Kitutu’s relatives were imprisoned in February for peddling metal roofing panels bearing the words “Office of the Prime Minister.”
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced late Wednesday that criminal accusations of corruption and conspiracy will be lodged against Kitutu.
Last month, when she appeared before a parliamentary commission, she apologized for the bungled shipment of metal roofing sheets.
