A police officer from the Directorate of Forensic Services has disclosed that a significant number of 1617 iron sheets were retrieved from a farm in Mukono, which belongs to the former Karamoja affairs state minister Agnes Nandutu. Clement Watiti, the officer, provided this information on May 2, 2024, during testimony before Anti-Corruption Court Judge Jane Okuo Kajuga.
Watiti recounted that on March 24, 2023, he received a call while at the forensic headquarters instructing him to meet Commissioner of Police Chelimo Beata at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Kibuli. There, Chelimo informed him of a case involving the alleged diversion of iron sheets, with Nandutu implicated.
The witness detailed that Nandutu purportedly confessed to receiving 2000 iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister and transporting them to her Mukono farm. Following Chelimo’s briefing, Watiti and fellow officers proceeded to the farm to recover the iron sheets.
Despite Nandutu’s absence, the officers, led by her farm assistant John Wetanga, commenced the search. They found piles of iron sheets both in the main building and the poultry house, as Wetanga directed.
Nandutu faces charges of dealing with suspect property, as outlined in the Anti-Corruption Act. Prosecution alleges that between June and July 2022, she received and held 2000 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister”, knowing they were obtained unlawfully.
If convicted, Nandutu could face up to seven years in prison. The case has been adjourned to May 27, 2024, for cross-examination, marking another chapter in this ongoing legal saga.
