The Anti-Corruption Court has directed parties in the case against former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Ms Agnes Nandutu, to file their final submissions ahead of the assessors opinion next month.
An assessor is a member of the public with no legal training and is provided for under criminal trials and they give their unbinding opinion to court before it proceeds to deliver its final verdict. Presiding judge Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga on Tuesday ordered Chief State Attorney David Bisamunyu to submit the prosecution’s final written arguments by November 14, 2025, while the defence team led by lawyer Charles Wamukota must file their response by November 28, 2025.
A rejoinder from the prosecution, if any, is expected by December 5, 2025. Justice Kajuga further set December 12, 2025, as the date when the court will reconvene for the summing up of the assessors’ opinion. On that day, the judge will summarise the evidence and proceedings from the start of the trial to the two court assessors, who will then advise the court on whether Ms Nandutu should be found guilty or acquitted.
‘The court will on December 12 summarise the entire hearing to the assessors, after which they will give their opinion on the matter,’ Justice Kajuga directed. In her defence testimony concluded in October, Nandutu denied any wrongdoing in connection with the 2,000 iron sheets found in her possession, which the prosecution says were meant for vulnerable households in Karamoja.
She told the court that she had no role in requisitioning, preparing, or distributing the relief items from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). ‘I was never involved in the requisition, preparation, or distribution of these iron sheets,’ Nandutu said during her unsworn testimony.
She added that the responsibility for explaining how the iron sheets were allocated to ministers and Members of Parliament lies with former senior minister Mary Goretti Kituttu, her personal assistant Joshua Abaho, and former undersecretary Geoffrey Seremba. The Bududa District Woman MP maintained that she accepted the 2,000 iron sheets to assist landslide victims in her constituency. ‘I took them mainly to help my people in Bududa who were affected by landslides. That was my only intention,’ she told court.
Throughout the trial, Nandutu has insisted she had no access to OPM stores and did not instruct anyone to deliver the items to her. She said her involvement began only after she was informed that iron sheets had been allocated to her office. ‘These matters were handled at a higher level in the ministry,’ she said. Ms Nandutu is charged with dealing with suspect government property, contrary to the Anti-Corruption Act. The prosecution alleges that she was found in possession of 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets that were part of supplies procured under the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme in 2022. The items, intended to support vulnerable communities in the sub-region, were allegedly found at a private location in Mukono District.
The case is part of a wider investigation into the diversion of relief materials from OPM stores to high-ranking government officials. Other senior politicians implicated in related cases include Mary Goretti Kituttu, the former minister for Karamoja Affairs, and Amos Lugoloobi, the minister of State for Finance. Justice Kajuga’s schedule now sets the stage for the final phase of the trial, with a decision expected after the assessors deliver their opinion in December.