Ex-minister Nandutu appeals against conviction, sentence
Nandutu also argues that the trial judge wrongly concluded there was no Northern Uganda allocation column and that the ledger did not identify the ministries or offices against which the iron sheets were issued.
Nandudti is also challenging the four-year custodial sentence, describing it as harsh and excessive. (New Vision/Files)
KAMPALA - Former Karamoja affairs state minister Agnes Nandutu has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn her conviction and four-year prison sentence in the iron sheets case.
Nandutu, who was also the former Bududa District Woman MP, was convicted on April 8, 2026, by Anti-Corruption Court Judge Jane Okuo Kajuga on charges of dealing with suspect property, relating to iron sheets.
In her judgment, Justice Kajuga of the Anti-Corruption Court ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, finding overwhelming evidence that Nandutu knowingly received and held 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister.”
The judge rejected Nandutu’s defence that the iron sheets were intended for the people of Bududa, noting that documentary evidence did not support the claim.
“There is no indication in any of the documents that these iron sheets were intended for the people of Bududa,” Kajuga earlier ruled, adding that the delivery documents did not identify any beneficiaries or consignee.
Grounds of appeal
Through her legal team led by Nandaah Wamukoota, Nandutu has also applied for bail pending the hearing and determination of her appeal. Other defence lawyers include Evans Ochieng and John Nalela.
She is asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the conviction, sentence and all consequential orders issued by the High Court.
Nandutu contends that the trial judge wrongly interpreted Section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, arguing that the provision is vague, broad and imprecise.
She further maintains that the prosecution failed to prove she unlawfully received or possessed the iron sheets within the meaning of the law.
Nandutu also argues that the trial judge wrongly concluded there was no Northern Uganda allocation column and that the ledger did not identify the ministries or offices against which the iron sheets were issued.
Nandutu contends that the lower court introduced an erroneous interpretation of evidence by relying on user departments to determine ownership of the iron sheets because the ledger did not indicate specific batches from which they were issued.
According to the appeal, the prosecution failed to prove that the 2,000 iron sheets allocated to her formed part of the 10,000 sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme or that they had been diverted from their intended beneficiaries.
“The trial judge erred in finding that the iron sheets were diverted without formal procedures, requests or documentation, insisting that the evidence presented did not support that conclusion,” Nandutu asserts.
She is also challenging the four-year custodial sentence, describing it as harsh and excessive.
The case
Nandutu, who is also the Bududa District Woman MP, is facing charges of dealing with suspect property, contrary to Section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.
The prosecution alleges that between June and July 2022, at the OPM stores in Namanve and Kkola cell, Bulwanyi parish, Mukono district, Nandutu dealt with government property, namely 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets of gauge 28 marked “Office of the Prime Minister”, by receiving and holding the items, which she had reason to believe were acquired as a result of loss of public property, an offence under Section 10 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009.
The case stems from the wider iron sheets scandal that also saw former Minister for Karamoja Affairs Mary Goretti Kitutu, Kitutu’s brother Michael Kitutu Naboya and her former personal assistant Joshua Abaho charged over the alleged diversion of government iron sheets that had been procured for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
The trial of the trio is yet to resume at the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala.