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Some of President Yoweri Museveni's choices of Cabinet ministers have not gone down well with Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.

The party has decried what it has termed as the selective dropping of ministers who were implicated in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal leaving a selected few to continue enjoying impunity in the Government.

In a list that was released by President Museveni, only Karamoja affairs ministers: Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu were dropped. According to FDC, several big wigs who were implicated in the scandal are still enjoying the trappings of being in Cabinet.

“Why would President Museveni’s wielded sacking panga miss State Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Amos Lugolobi, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda in charge of the East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga, Vice-President Jessica Alupo and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja?” FDC deputy secretary for publicity Walid Lubega Mulindwa said.

During the party's weekly media briefing at Najjanankumbi on MArch 25, 2024, Lubega claimed that even Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among should have been investigated by now to be censured by Parliament.

“Iron sheet saga had cooled down when the parliamentary exhibition set in. All suspects involved in the iron sheet heist should have been thrown out of Cabinet and parliament,” he suggested.

Approximately 105,658 pieces of iron sheets estimated at about sh3.5b were procured by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) between February 1 and August 8, 2022 for the Karamoja affairs ministry in three batches as relief items to the poor Karamojong but never reached the intended beneficiaries.

Mulindwa said the relief package was allegedly diverted by influential ministers and MPs in the Government.

“This is what Museveni should have used to trim an 80-member Cabinet. Appointing Lugolobi, Nabbanja and Alupo back in Cabinet shows how corruption and graft is massaged in the Government,” he noted.

Nandutu is battling charges of dealing with suspect property, contrary to Section 21A (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act. If found guilty, Nandutu will be sentenced to seven years in prison.

Prosecution alleges that Nandutu between the month of June and July 2022, at the OPM stores in Namanve, and in Kkola Cell, Bulwanyi Parish, Mukono district, dealt with government property, namely, 2000 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.

On the other hand, Kitutu, who is the Manafwa district Woman Member of Parliament, faces two counts of loss of public property and conspiracy to defraud at the Anti-Corruption Court together with her brother, Micheal Kitutu Naboya and personal assistant Joshua Abaho.

UPC, NRM smear campaign caused loss of Dokolo seat

FDC faulted the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) parties candidates for promoting hate speech and a smear campaign during the recently concluded byelection to replace deceased Dokolo District Woman Member of Parliament Cecilia Ogwal. Ogwal was an FDC stalwart who died early this year.

UPC’s Sarah Oguti Nyangkori emerged the winner with 23,044 votes beating Dr Rosemary Alwoc Ogwal who polled 8,168.

According to Mulindwa, Alwoc was tainted with propaganda that she was a foreigner living in UK and was not very acquainted with Dokolo issues.

“Our candidate was labelled as someone without identity coming from Kole district where her mother was buried,” he added.