An activist has dropped pigs outside Parliament of Uganda in a protest in which he called for the arrest of Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, Vice President Jessica Alupo and several ministers — besides Mary Gorreti Kitutu — named in the Karamoja iron sheets (mabaati) scandal.
Minister Kitutu, who is in charge of Karamoja Affairs, was expected to be formally charged before the Kololo-based Anti-Corruption Court over her role in the mabaati scandal. The saga came to light following the arrest of minister Kitutu’s mother and brother a few months ago. (See Details Here).
Kitutu’s production in court came hours after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced it had sanctioned charges of corruption and conspiracy to commit a felony against Minister Kitutu over her role in the diversion of iron sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo has consented to the charges. The Police have been directed to produce the Minister in court for plea [on April 06],” tweeted the ODPP on April 05.
But a number of top government officials who have been named in the scandal are yet to be arrested or even formally charged.
These include: VP Alupo, Speaker Among, PM Nabbanja, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs Rebecca Kadaga, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio Rukia Isanga Nakadama, Finance, Planning and Economic Development Minister Matia Kasaija, Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Judith Nabakooba, Government Chief Whip, Dennis Hamson Obua, Ethics and Integrity Minister Rose Lilly Akello, and junior finance (planning) minister Amos Lugoloobi.
It was against this background that an activist dropped piglets outside Parliament, calling for the arrest and prosecution of the other top officials, including the VP, Speaker and PM.
The protester wondered why Speaker Among, VP Alupo and PM Nabbanja would be immune to arrest and prosecution at a time when former US President Donald Trump, once the most powerful man on earth, was indicted. In his view, the protester who was later arrested, insisted that all the officials named should be in the dock with Kitutu.
It should be remembered that Prime Minister Nabbanja spoke out on reports that she used the Karamoja iron sheets while Kadaga explained how she used the iron sheets that were meant for Karamoja. (Read Stories Here and There).
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