Uganda's Mary Goretti Kitutu to spend Easter in jail over roofing-sheets scandal

After being prosecuted in connection with a scandal involving the theft of thousands of metal roofing sheets, a cabinet minister from Uganda will spend Easter in jail.

The northeastern Karamoja region's vulnerable communities were to receive them.

The minister for the area, Mary Goretti Kitutu Kimono, entered a not guilty plea in court but was not granted bail.

Some of the stolen corrugated iron is allegedly in the possession of at least 10 additional senior government officials.

According to the inspector general of government, these include the vice president, the prime minister, the speaker of the house, and other ministers.

A parliamentary committee looking into the corruption incident involving 14,500 missing iron sheets was informed by some of them that they had not requested them.

According to local media, one minister was recently compelled to remove some from the top of his goat shed.

Many people in the semi-arid north-eastern region of Karamoja have become dependent on help as a result of the region's long-lasting droughts and flooding during rainy seasons.

'Not true'

Mrs. Kitutu will remain behind bars until the following Wednesday. It is reported that she gave the roofing supplies to her family and government representatives rather than delivering them to the communities of Karamoja.

She spoke confidently in court, "I have understood the charge and it's not true.

She is accused of receiving 100 of the corrugated iron sheets along with her brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, who entered a not guilty plea.

The court appearance of the minister was eagerly anticipated. She arrived with a piece of cloth over her head and face to protect herself from the clamoring press.

Her attorney had requested bail on her behalf, stating that she was a prominent senior with medical issues and would not impede the testimony of the prosecution.

 However, the prosecution argued in favor of keeping her in detention, claiming that Mrs. Kitutu had stopped her mother, from whose home some sheets were found, from giving a statement to the police.

Three people who are allegedly connected to the scandal—her sister-in-law, niece, and daughter-in-law—are on the run.

As a prominent environmental scientist, Mrs. Kitutu worked to study the landslide-prone area near her house in Mt. Elgon.

She was a cabinet member for the energy and mining ministries before she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016.

High-profile government officials are frequently involved in corruption scandals, yet they rarely resign or are fired as a result.

 Any decision regarding Mrs. Kitutu's future, according to Communications Minister Chris Baryomunsi, would be made following the conclusion of the police probe.

No matter who you are, you must answer to the law, he remarked.

Yoweri Museveni, the president, has demanded that everyone implicated be brought to justice.

The controversy has not yet resulted in charges against any other authorities.

Critics have frequently expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that only minor players are convicted after corruption probes.