In her appeal, Kitutu complained, among other things, about the alleged denial of exculpatory evidence, lack of access to a lawyer during interrogation, alleged torture and degrading treatment, adverse media coverage and what she described as selective prosecution.
The Court of Appeal has dismissed former Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu’s appeal challenging the prosecution against her over the alleged loss of government iron sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme.
A three-member panel comprising Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Christopher Gashirabake and Moses Kazibwe Kawumi upheld the High Court Anti-Corruption Division’s decision dismissing Kitutu’s human rights application.
The appeal arose from a High Court ruling delivered on November 28, 2023, after Kitutu challenged the manner in which she was investigated and prosecuted over the iron-sheets case.
Kitutu, who was charged with loss of public property under the Anti-Corruption Act and conspiracy to defraud under the Penal Code, pleaded not guilty to the charges. She argued that her fundamental rights had been violated during investigations and sought to have the criminal proceedings declared a nullity, alongside damages.
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In her appeal, Kitutu complained, among other things, about the alleged denial of exculpatory evidence, lack of access to a lawyer during interrogation, alleged torture and degrading treatment, adverse media coverage and what she described as selective prosecution.
However, the Court of Appeal found no basis to overturn the High Court’s decision.
On the disclosure of evidence, the court held that although an accused person is entitled to timely disclosure of relevant material in the prosecution’s possession, the documents Kitutu sought concerning iron sheets returned or compensated for by other suspects did not have a sufficient logical connection to the specific charges against her.
The court further held that the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute Kitutu could not be faulted merely because other people investigated in connection with the iron-sheets saga were not charged.
On her allegations of torture and mistreatment, the court found that Kitutu had failed to prove the factual basis of the allegations to the required standard.
The court also rejected her complaint over media coverage, holding that the evidence before it did not establish that the publications had targeted her or that they would affect the outcome of her criminal trial.
The judges further declined to interfere with the High Court’s finding regarding legal representation. Although Kitutu had not been informed of her right to a lawyer during the initial interaction with investigators, the Court of Appeal found that she was not under arrest, restriction or detention at that stage and, therefore, the circumstances did not amount to a violation requiring compensation.
The court also clarified that the question of whether the government actually suffered a loss in relation to the 14,500 iron sheets is a matter for determination in the substantive criminal trial, rather than through the human-rights application.
Background
Kitutu’s case is part of the wider Karamoja iron-sheets scandal in which government roofing materials procured for vulnerable communities in the Karamoja sub-region were diverted to people who were not the intended beneficiaries.
Kitutu was prosecuted alongside then State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu, although the two faced different charges arising from the wider scandal.
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Nandutu was convicted by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court on April 8, 2026, after the court found her guilty of dealing with suspect property in relation to 2,000 pre-painted iron sheets she had received and retained.
On April 10, 2026, Nandutu was sentenced to four years in prison, with time spent on remand deducted from her sentence. She was also barred from holding public office for 10 years, while the court ordered 1,585 recovered iron sheets to be returned to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Nandutu’s conviction followed a trial in which the court heard that 2,000 iron sheets had been received from the Office of the Prime Minister stores and transported to her farm in Mukono District. The court found that she knew or ought to have known that the materials had been irregularly obtained.
The Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Kitutu’s appeal, however, does not amount to a determination of her guilt or innocence in the criminal case.
The appeal was concerned with whether her alleged rights violations during the investigation and prosecution warranted the remedies she sought. Her substantive criminal case remains subject to determination by the trial court.
The Court of Appeal consequently dismissed the appeal and ordered each party to bear its own costs.
