The under secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Geoffrey Sseremba, testified that State Minister for Finance in charge of planning, Amos Lugoloobi, had no part in the requisition process for iron sheets intended for the Karacuna people in Karamoja.
Sseremba stated that Mr. Lugoloobi’s involvement was not documented in the iron sheets approval process. He emphasized that since Mr. Lugoloobi is not affiliated with the OPM, he could not influence their procedures.
The iron sheets, requested by Karamoja Affairs minister, Mary Goretti Kitutu, were meant for a program launch attended by President Museveni in Moroto. Mr. Sseremba presented a memo from Minister Kitutu requesting 12,000 iron sheets for this purpose. However, some of the iron sheets did not reach Moroto as they were issued without proper authorization, leading to security investigations.
According to Sseremba, the iron sheets were intended for vulnerable and reformed warriors, and ministers and MPs were not among the beneficiaries. Mr. Lugoloobi, along with Ministers Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu, is one of the three ministers accused of possessing iron sheets designated for the Karacunas. All of the accused individuals are awaiting separate trials in the High Court.
Another prosecution witness, Joshua Abaho, who works as Minister Kitutu’s personal secretary and is also a suspect in a separate case, testified that he participated in the beneficiary verification process at the President’s program launch.
The prosecution alleges that Mr. Lugoloobi, on two occasions in 2022 and 2023, dealt with government property, specifically 400 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister,” with the belief that these iron sheets were acquired due to the loss of public property, constituting an offense under section 10(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act.
