Amos Lugoloobi, the State Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, testified in front of the High Court on his alleged role in the theft of iron sheets intended for Karamoja’s most needy residents.
On Tuesday morning, Lugoloobi appeared before Lady Justice Margaret Tibulya, who read him two accusations of dealing with questionable property.
The Minister entered a not-guilty plea to the accusations. The court had previously been informed that Lugoloobi had purchased 700 prepainted iron sheets labelled “Office of the Prime Minister” while visiting the prime minister’s stores in Namanve, Mukono District, as well as other locations in Matuga, Wakiso District, and Ntejeru North Constituency in Kayunga District.
The prosecution claims that the iron sheets in question were obtained in two phases, the first involving 400 iron sheets between July 14, 2022, and February 20, 2023, and the second involving 300 iron sheets between February 1 and March 16, 2023, both of which were acquired as a result of the loss of government property in violation of Section 10 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Court.
Three assessors—Judith Muhairwe, Fred Ssemukwano, and John Martin Ofwono—were chosen by the High Court and sworn in to start working to assist the court with the trial.
Despite talking to John Isabirye and Tonny Tumukunde, the attorneys for Lugoloobi, who were ready for the hearing, the prosecutor, Josephine Namatovu, notified the court that they were not yet prepared to start.
Namatovu stated that they had provided all the documents that they intended to use in their prosecution of the Minister to Lugoloobi’s attorneys, but they needed more time to review them and determine if they should be included in the court record.
The judge was informed by Isabirye and Tumukunde, who were present in court, that they had requested extra time.
Lugoloobi’s bail was increased by Justice Margaret Tibulya, who also postponed the trial until August 22nd, 2023.
Following the end of the investigations into the allegations against him, the Magistrate’s Court committed Lugoloobi to stand trial last month.
Following his motion for the easing of his bail conditions, the court also permitted him access to his passport.
Lugoloobi claimed in his application that he travelled frequently because he had to represent Uganda at a number of meetings where fiscal policies, among other things, were to be developed.
Upon finding Lugoloobi’s arguments persuasive, Deputy Registrar Pamela Lamunu Ocaya granted his plea on the justification that his attorneys must notify the court anytime he travels.
If found guilty, Lugoloobi, who is accused of using the iron sheets to cover a shelter for his goats, might receive a seven-year prison sentence, a fine of up to 160 currency points (Shillings 3.2 million), or both.
He is one of the three Ministers being tried by the anti-corruption court for the controversy involving the Karamoja iron sheets.
The other two are State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Agness Nandutu and her Senior Minister Mary Gorreti Kitutu, who is accused of conspiring to defraud the government and causing the loss of government property on six counts alongside her brother Michael Naboya Kitutu.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Jane Frances Abodo, has since closed the case files of the other 17 prominent politicians, including MPs, Ministers, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Vice President, who were previously charged in the same scandal due to a lack of evidence.
