Minister Kitutu, Brother Remanded to Luzira on Charges of Corruption.

The Anti-Corruption Court has sent the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Mary Gorreti Kitutu Kimono and her brother Micheal Naboya Kitutu, to Luzira for charges of causing public property loss, corruption, and conspiring to defraud the government.

Chief Magistrate Joan Achiro presided over Kitutu's arraignment on Thursday. The Court was informed that between June 2022 and January 2023, Kitutu diverted 14,000 pre-painted Iron sheets of Gauge 28, which were meant to benefit the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program, for her own and third parties' gain, knowing it would lead to loss of public property.

It has been alleged that Kitutu's co-accused, Micheal Naboya, who is a peasant farmer and resident of Bukawekha Sub County in Namisindwa District, received 100 iron sheets that were stolen property during the same period.

Along with Kitutu, Joshua Abaho, the Senior Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs' Office of the Prime Minister, is implicated but did not appear in court. Criminal summons have been issued against Abaho. However, Kitutu denied the charges.

Her lawyers, Jude Byamukama and Michael Wamasebu, applied for bail, citing Kitutu's advanced age of 61 and her prominence as a State Minister and Cabinet Minister who has served in many respectable offices. They also mentioned that Kitutu is a decorated scientist and academician with a permanent residence in Bunga Makindye Division.

According to Wamasebu, Kitutu also owns two pieces of land within the court's jurisdiction, in the form of a private mile in Wakiso District, which he has submitted to the court. The court was informed that Kitutu has a medical condition called hypertensive heart disease with left ventricle stiffness (HHDD), which was diagnosed by Dr. Charles Sendikadiwa of Mulago National Referral Hospital on March 15th, 2023.

Wamasebu also stated that Kitutu's condition has worsened during her two-day custody, and the condition is especially dangerous when she is under stress. Wamasebu presented Kitutu's sureties to the court, which included her husband, Michael George Kitutu, a self-employed man with an interest in real estate, former MP Simon Mulongo, who is currently a Diplomat and Special Envoy to the African Union, Seth Wambede, Mbale City Northern Division Member of Parliament, and Dr. Joel Wandabwa, a Plastic Surgeon attached to Kiruddu Hospital.

Assistant DPP, Namatovu, opposed Kitutu's bail application based on an affidavit sworn by Detective Muhammad Soweti, one of the investigating officers, stating that the inquiries are ongoing, and Kitutu may interfere with prosecution witnesses once released.

Namatovu also noted that Kitutu obstructed her mother from recording a statement, and some of the exhibits in the case were recovered from her house. Namatovu argued that the presented sureties did not meet the requirements for release on bail in such a serious offense case involving the loss of public property, which attracts a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment upon conviction. Despite Kitutu's lawyer presenting her medical condition, the court remanded both Kitutu and her brother until April 12. The state requested more time to verify the authenticity of the land titles and the documents presented by the sureties.