MP Nandutu iron sheets case resumes as lawyers make 'no case to answer' submissions

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Former Karamoja affairs state minister Agnes Nandutu's iron sheets case resumes Tuesday, October 30, 2025, with the prosecution and defence lawyers expected to make submissions on ‘no case to answer’.

Under the law, if the court finds that an accused person has ‘no case to answer’, they are acquitted. However, if the court rules otherwise, the accused will be required to defend themselves against the charges preferred against them.

The acting Principal Judge, Jane Okuo Kajuga, is expected to hear the submissions.

Nandutu, who is also the Bududa district Woman Member of Parliament, closed her defence on October 6, 2025. She was defended by four people.

They include Peter Omodoi (the Office of the Prime Minister employee), Milton Apollo Kamoti Wasinguyi (Bududa district LC5 chairperson), and Francis Lowoth Okori.

On August 15, 2025, defence witness Peter Amodoi, 56, a programmes officer attached to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), said he did not know anything concerning iron sheets because his duties were to mobilise, take assignments and monitor Karamoja government programmes.

Amodoi said as a programmes officer, he reports to the assistant commissioner and takes instructions from ministers. The witness said he only engaged in three activities, including recovering guns from the Karachunas, the reformed Karamoja warriors.

The witness also said he engaged in mobilisation and monitoring education infrastructures in Karamoja region and the last assignment was mobilising agriculture inputs, whereupon he filed two reports about education and agriculture in 2021.

Amodoi told the court that Bududa does not fall under the Karamoja affairs ministry, but it has general ministries such as that of disaster preparedness and refugees.

Bududa LC5 chairperson Milton Apollo Kamoti told the court that his work is to monitor the progress of the development in the district. He is one of Nandutu’s sureties.

He told the court that in 2022, Bududa faced a landslide, especially in Bulucheke and Bushika, resulting in the displacement of many people.

“When landslides hit Bududa, many people were affected, and the prime minister was able to visit the scene and deliver food and other items. Nandutu also pledged to support the victims,” Kamoti said.

The witness also testified that in March 2022, Nandutu informed him that she had iron sheets for the Bududa landslide victims.

Kamoti said after receiving the information, he requested the chief administrative officer (CAO) to write a formal letter to the OPM, requesting iron sheets. The witness said the CAO wrote the letter, and it was received by the OPM’s office in October 2022, but they never received the iron sheets.

The case

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 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.