Karamoja ministry official charged over diverted iron sheets

The first technocrat in the Karamoja iron sheets saga was yesterday arraigned before court and sent behind the Luzira prison gates.

Mr Joshua Abaho, 46, a senior assistant secretary at the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs under the Office of the Prime Minister, was charged with two counts of corruption and one count of conspiracy to defraud.

He was the only suspect on the case file of Karamoja Affairs minister Mary Goretti Kitutu and her younger brother, Mr Micheal Naboya Kitutu, who had not been formally charged before the court despite being indicted at the same time. 

He had claimed not to have been officially served with the court criminal summons and that he was also nursing his sick wife who had had a miscarriage at the time of charging his co-accused.

Once convicted of corruption, Mr Abaho faces up to 10 years in jail or a fine of Shs4.8m or both.

Presiding Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro stood over the matter and in the meantime sent Mr Abaho to prison until Tuesday next week when she delivers her ruling.

Ms Aciro had initially wanted to deliver her ruling today, but since the prosecutors are having the 6th Joan Kagezi Memorial Lecture being presided over by President Museveni, it was not possible.

Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu had told the court that they won’t be represented as prosecution due to the same memorial lecture.

“Today, we are in Munyonyo and this had been communicated to the court. I am not sure when the event will end,” Mr Bisamunyu submitted.

Under the charge of conspiracy to defraud, its prosecution’s case that Minister Kitutu and Mr Abaho between June 2022 and January 2023, allegedly conspired to defraud beneficiaries under the Karamoja community empowerment programme of 9,000 pre-painted iron sheets.

On the charge of corruption, Mr Abaho is accused of diverting pre-painted 9,000 iron sheets that were meant for the Karamoja Sub-region, which he received by virtue of his position.
He is specifically accused of diverting 5,500 iron sheets. He denies the charges.

Earlier in the course of the court session, his lawyer Paul Kutesa applied to the court to release him on bail. 

Some of the grounds that lawyer Kutesa raised were that his client had brought himself to court, meaning he was a law-abiding citizen, presented a certificate of land title, and that he will not interfere with witnesses.

He also went ahead and presented four sureties who included Mr Kenneth Mugumya Tibaiju, a brother to the accused, Mr Johnson Musiguzi, a cousin and an assistant commissioner in the Works ministry, Mr Geoffrey Ndiwalana, an engineer with Makindye Ssabagabo Division and Mr Simon Peter Kasyte, the deputy director of Public and Corporate Affairs at KCCA. 

But the prosecution objected to the release of Mr Abaho on bail on grounds that all his sureties did not meet the required rules of the court.

Mr Bisamunyu also argued that all his sureties did not demonstrate their ability to execute the court bond in the range of Shs200m, should the accused person jump bail based on the bank statements that they had presented to the court.

“We submit that all the five sureties don’t meet the required rules of meeting the bond. They should be disregarded for not demonstrating their capability,” Mr Bisamunyu argued.

The other suspects so far charged in connection with the iron sheets saga include Junior Karamoja Affairs minister Agnes Nandutu who is still on remand at Luzira prison and Mr Amos Lugoloobi (Minister of State for Planning).

Compiled by Juliet Kigongo, Esther Bridget Nakalya & Anthony Wesaka