Sheet iron saga: Minister Lugoloobi requests dismissal of charges against him

Lawyers for Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugoloobi have asked the court to dismiss charges against the government official in the iron sheet scandal.

On Monday, defense lawyers led by John Isabirye asked the Anti-Corruption Court presided over by Judge Jane Kanjuga to dismiss the charges against the Minister of State.

“We submit that there was no evidence of the material facts against the defendant and that the evidence presented to this court by the prosecution was so contradictory and so unreliable under cross-examination that no reasonable court can rely on it.” Isabirye submitted.

He added: “The defendant had no idea he was dealing with suspicious property.”

The prosecution led by Josephine Namatovu objected to the application on the grounds that prosecutors had already presented a prima facie case against the minister and had presented sufficient evidence to support the charges.

“The defense did not deny that the accused received the iron sheets, but rather spoke of contradictions from the witnesses and from the time when the accused received the iron sheets [between July 2023-2024]“He kept her in different places,” Namatovu added.

“Some iron sheets were found in his farm and his workers were caught removing the pre-painted iron sheets along with those that were unmarked. “In our view, these iron sheets were in the possession of the accused person pending recovery,” added them added.

Namatovu told the court that only 1,000 iron sheets were taken from the Prime Minister’s Office (OPM) stores, leaving 9,000 sheets which were distributed to selected ministers with the approval of former Karamoja minister Mary Goretti Kitutu. The accused is one of the ministers who illegally obtained the iron sheets.

The trial judge adjourned the case to November 14 to decide whether there is a case to answer.

The indictment alleges that on July 14, 2022 and February 2023, Lugoloobi dealt in government property at OPM branches in Namanve in Mukono District and at various locations in Matugga, Wakiso District and Ntenjeru North Constituency in Kayunga District; 400 pre-painted iron sheets bearing the inscription “Prime Minister’s Office” with reason to believe that the said iron sheets were acquired through loss of public property, an offense under Section 10(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the second report, the prosecution said that between February 1, 2023 and March 16, 2023, Lugoloobi handled suspicious property at OPM branches in Namanve and various locations in Matugga and Ntenjeru; 300 pre-painted iron sheets bearing the inscription “Prime Minister’s Office” where there is reason to believe that the said iron sheets were acquired through forfeiture of public property, an offense under Section 10(I) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The documentary evidence against Lugoloobi includes his terms and conditions as Minister of State, Guidelines for Distribution of Iron Sheets dated March 22, 2022, Work Plan for Distribution of the Iron Sheets in Karamoja Sub-Region, Schedule of Recipients of the Iron Sheets, etc. Crime Scene Officer Reports.

Others include a search certificate relating to the search conducted on his farm, search certificates for the iron sheets returned to OPM stores by the accused person, OPM goods receipt for the returned iron sheets and evidence receipts respecting the recovered iron sheets among others .