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Kitutu’s arrest Sparks cries of selective prosecution
Minister for Karamoja affairs Mary Gorreti Kitutu
The Minister for Karamoja Mary Goretti Kitutu has been charged with corruption and conspiracy to commit a felony for diverting iron sheets meant for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Programme.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed in a statement on Twitter that it had sanctioned the charges and directed Police to produce the embattled minister in Court today Thursday April 6 to enter her plea.
Reliable sources say that Kitutu has since yesterday been detained at Kiira road police station. Sources add that she was arrested at Parliament after she refused to testify under oath during investigations on the matter.
Kitutu’s arrest has however sparked angry reactions from members of the public about what many perceive as selective prosecution in a scandal involving the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, many senior ministers and over a dozen MPs.
Kitutu’s troubles stem from the fact that she oversaw the distribution of more than 50,000 iron sheets meant for poor youth in Karamoja, to fellow Ministers and MPs.
They were part of the 100,000 iron sheets and several goats that had been bought from a UGX39bn supplementary budget by the government to help rescue the youth in Karamoja from cattle rustling practices.
A section of the views from the public on Kitutu’s arrest
Other netizens are also wondering what message is the appointing authority trying to send by maintaining Kitutu as Minister despite the glaring political risk that she brings to the government.
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