Prosecutors believe that when Minister Amos Lugoloobi hastily decided to deroof his cowshed, it was a clear sign of guilt, like a child hiding a stolen mango when the parent walks in. The finance state minister, standing trial for diverting iron sheets meant for the Karamoja subregion, found himself entangled in a legal tussle that has turned more dramatic than the best Ugandan soap operas.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Josephine Namatovu, made it clear during the court hearing that Lugoloobi’s sudden move to remove the iron sheets from his shed after investigations started only points to one conclusion: he knew exactly where those shiny sheets came from. According to Namatovu, the speed with which he tried to undo his handiwork is as suspicious as a boda rider with no passengers during rush hour.
Lugoloobi, a man who perhaps thought his cows deserved high end roofing, had reportedly used the iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Kiboko pre-coated sheet PPG Gauge 28” on his cowshed in Bbale, Kayunga district. But when the State House Anti-Corruption Unit came knocking on February 28, 2023, things got spicy. Workers were seen hastily removing the distinctive sheets, probably hoping no one would notice. But alas, it was too late. The iron sheets, marked and pre-painted, could be spotted from a mile away.
“If the police hadn’t shown up, who knows what would have happened to those iron sheets?” Namatovu rhetorically asked the court. Maybe they would have ended up on another shed or even a friend’s new ‘shade for goats,’ because in Uganda, sharing is caring.
The state believes Lugoloobi knew he wasn’t supposed to receive the iron sheets. After all, these weren’t just any sheets. They were for the Karamoja region, a place that often makes headlines for needing relief aid, not for being the source of roofing for ministers’ farms. According to Namatovu, Lugoloobi did eventually return the sheets to the OPM stores after President Museveni issued a directive, but the timing of it all makes it look as though the cows had already enjoyed enough shade.
On the defense side, Lugoloobi’s lawyer, John Isabirye, put up a spirited argument, essentially saying, “What’s the fuss all about?” According to him, there are many gaps in the state’s evidence, and the whole case has more holes than a sack of cassava that’s been chewed by rats. He claimed the evidence against his client doesn’t even require a defense.
Another defense lawyer, Alex Luganda, took things a step further, comparing the state’s accusation to calling out someone for borrowing sugar from a neighbor. “Who takes responsibility when someone makes a distribution error?” he asked, suggesting that the prosecution was treating the case as if the iron sheets had Karamoja written all over them—literally. In his view, Lugoloobi wasn’t guilty of anything more than casually benefiting from the same relief aid that might have gone to anyone else.
The prosecution, however, sees it differently. They allege that between July 14, 2022, and February 28, 2023, Lugoloobi received a total of 600 iron sheets in two batches of 300 each. They argue that the sheets were misappropriated from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and that Lugoloobi should have known better than to use them for his farm’s infrastructure. The state insists that the iron sheets were part of a larger loss of public property and that Lugoloobi’s eagerness to deroof his shed when the investigation began shows his awareness of the scandal.
To add weight to their claims, the prosecution laid out the timeline in detail. Lugoloobi’s personal assistant, John Allan Damulira, reportedly signed for the first 300 iron sheets on July 15, 2022. The second batch, also 300 sheets, arrived from the Karamoja Affairs Ministry on February 1, 2023, and were received under voucher number 8,527. Both sets of iron sheets ended up at Lugoloobi’s farm, though he now finds himself answering for their presence in court.
Table: Timeline of Events in the Iron Sheets Scandal
| Date | Event/Action |
|---|---|
| July 14, 2022 | First batch of 300 iron sheets received by Lugoloobi |
| February 1, 2023 | Second batch of 300 iron sheets received by Lugoloobi |
| February 28, 2023 | Lugoloobi removes iron sheets from cowshed during investigation |
| March 16, 2023 | Lugoloobi returns iron sheets following Museveni’s directive |
While the defense claims the state is making a mountain out of a molehill, the prosecution sees a clear pattern of mismanagement of public property. The iron sheets, they argue, were meant to help the people of Karamoja, not to improve the living conditions of livestock in Kayunga.
In a country where even the cows seem to get involved in scandals, all eyes are on the Anti-Corruption Court to determine whether the minister’s deroofing stunt is a sign of guilt or simply a case of miscommunication over who deserved the iron sheets.
