The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among, has issued a directive to the Presidential Affairs Committee to carry out an investigation into the alleged mismanagement of the Karamoja relief items that were meant to benefit the vulnerable groups in the region.
Speaker Among’s directive follows a petition by the Parliamentary leaders of Karamoja, in which they demanded an immediate investigation regarding the alleged diversion of iron sheets, among other relief items meant to benefit the vulnerable populace.
According to the petition, the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Mary Gorretti Kitutu, distributed some iron sheets to her relatives’ home in Namisindwa, where she is the district woman member of parliament.
The committee is expected to report back to parliament in two weeks regarding its findings.
The petitioners accused the senior officials of distributing among themselves more than 12,000 iron sheets, goats, and foodstuffs.
The MPs said that the vulnerable and disarmed youth in Karamoja were meant to receive 100,000 iron sheets worth Shs5 billion, but to their surprise, none of them has ever received the package.
“Ugx 5bn was for the procurement of 100,000 iron sheets for disarmed youth across the region. To date, no vulnerable or disarmed youth has received even a single iron sheet,” the petition reads in part.
On Friday last week, three members of Minister Kitutu’s family were arrested by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and Police, together with other security agencies, after over 400 iron sheets were recovered at their home.
The Karamoja Parliamentary leaders have since asked Minister Kitutu to resign to pave the way for thorough investigations to be carried out.
