The Court of Appeal has blocked the trial of the former Karamoja affairs minister Mary Goretti Kitutu over accusations of causing a loss of sh1.5b to the Government after allegedly failing to conduct peace-building activities in Karamoja.

Justice John Oscar Kihika on Thursday, March 28, 2024, ruled that Kitutu had raised matters that necessitated a resolution.

“I find that the applicant has made out a case for issuance of an order of stay of proceedings. I hereby issue an order for stay of the criminal proceedings against Kitutu at the Anti-Corruption Court, pending determination of her application before this court,” Kihika ruled.

Kitutu argues that the commencement of fresh shillings 1.5 billion criminal proceedings against her would infringe on her right to a fair hearing, the matter Kihika said will be determined in the main appeal.

The judge said the right to a fair hearing in Article 28 of the Constitution is an inalienable right that ought to be strictly observed.

“If the second trial were to proceed before determining whether or not the applicant’s right to a fair hearing was infringed upon, she would suffer immeasurable damage on account of being subjected to proceedings that could affect her right to a fair hearing,” he noted.

The development comes a week after President Yoweri Museveni announced changes to his Cabinet, which saw Kitutu, who is also implicated in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal, dropped as Karamoja affairs minister and replaced by Peter Lokeris.

On March 19, 2024, Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya withdrew offences of corruption against three former Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) officials, charged alongside Kitutu. However, Kitutu is the only person who remains indicted with charges of causing financial loss to the Government.

The officials are the interdicted OPM undersecretary of finance and administration Geoffrey Sseremba, under-secretary of pacification and development programme Deogratius Masagazi and accountant Tracy Atuhirwe.

Background

Kitutu, who is also the Woman representative for Manafwa district, was first charged with two counts of loss of public property and conspiracy to defraud in connection to the iron sheets meant for Karamoja region.

Thereafter, the IGG also issued summons to Kitutu, requiring her to appear at her offices on January 11, 2024, to give information on an ongoing inquiry in respect of the management of supplementary funds released to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for the financial year 2021/2022.

Subsequently, Kitutu filed two applications at the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala, seeking a temporary injunction and interim orders against the IGG challenging their summons and investigations.

Before these applications could be heard, the IGG brought fresh charges against Kitutu at the Anti-Corruption Court by amending the charge sheet to include her.

This prompted Kitutu to file an application in the same court, seeking a declaration that the subsequent charges brought against her, contravene her right to a fair hearing. She also wanted the court to issue a permanent injunction, restraining the IGG from further prosecuting her on cases arising out of the alleged mismanagement of supplementary funds released to the OPM.