Former Minister Agnes Nandutu Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

Former Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Agnes Nandutu, has been sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the illegal possession of government iron sheets. In a landmark ruling delivered this afternoon at the Anti-Corruption High Court, Justice Jane Okuo also barred the Bududa District Woman MP from holding any public office for the next ten years.

The sentence follows Nandutu’s conviction on April 8, 2026, for dealing with suspect property. The judge ruled that the time the legislator has already spent on remand will be deducted from her four-year custodial sentence.

An Emotional Plea for Leniency

Earlier in the day, an emotional Nandutu broke down in court, pleading for a non-custodial sentence. She asked for forgiveness from President Museveni, her constituents in Bududa, and the people of Karamoja.

“I would like to express my remorse to the people of Karamoja and the appointing authority. Please forgive me,” she told the court.

Nandutu cited several personal grounds for leniency, including:

• Health Concerns: She claimed to have lumps in her lungs that cause occasional loss of consciousness.

• Family Obligations: She identified herself as a single mother of seven and the primary caregiver for her 81-year-old mother.

• Restitution: She noted that she had returned 1,617 iron sheets and paid cash for the 383 that were missing.

The prosecution, led by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), pushed for a minimum of five years. They argued that the crime was premeditated, noting that Nandutu kept the iron sheets for nine months and only cooperated after police intervention.

Justice Okuo ultimately leaned toward a custodial sentence, citing the “gravity and nature” of the offense. The judge emphasized that the 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets were part of a Shs 39.94 billion supplementary budget specifically intended to support disarmament and empower vulnerable communities in Karamoja.

The court heard that in June 2022, Nandutu facilitated the collection of the iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) stores in Namanve. The consignment was first hidden at a private residence in Wakiso before being moved to her home in Seeta, Mukono.

When investigators finally reached her farm in March 2023, they recovered 1,617 sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister.” The court concluded that as a minister, Nandutu knowingly received property that had been unlawfully diverted from its intended public program.

The 10-year ban from public office effectively ends Nandutu’s current term as the Bududa Woman MP and prevents her from contesting in the upcoming 2031 general elections. This ruling marks the most significant individual accountability measure taken so far in the Karamoja iron sheets saga, which has implicated several high-ranking government officials.

In addition to the prison term, the court ordered that all recovered iron sheets be returned to the government for their original purpose.