The Anti-Corruption Court is gearing up to address an application filed by Goretti Kitutu, Minister of Karamoja Affairs, challenging her summons by the Inspectorate of Government (IGG). Scheduled for January 16, 2024, Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga will preside over the proceedings concerning Kitutu’s appearance before the IGG.
The IGG has summoned Kitutu to elucidate the disbursement of supplementary funds earmarked for peacebuilding in the Karamoja region during the financial years 2021 and 2022. Kitutu’s lawyer, Jude Byamukama, filed an application on January 9, 2024, seeking the court’s declaration that the IGG’s investigation into alleged mismanagement of these funds violates Kitutu’s rights and should be deemed null and void.
Minister Kitutu is already facing charges of loss of public property and conspiracy to defraud. The prosecution alleges that between June 2022 and January 2023, at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) stores in Namanve, she caused the loss of 9,000 pre-painted iron sheets (gauge 28) meant for the Karamoja Community Development Programme (KCEP). It is further claimed that she diverted these materials for personal and third-party benefits.
The charges specify that Kitutu diverted 5,500 additional pre-painted iron sheets (gauge 28), conspiring to defraud beneficiaries under the KCEP. Moreover, during the same period at Situmi Village, Bukhawekha Sub County, Namisindwa District, it is alleged that Naboya, an accomplice, received 100 pre-coated iron sheets marked OPM-Uganda, believed to have been feloniously obtained. Kitutu has denied all charges.
