Police in Bupoto Sub-County, Namisindwa district, have arrested three family members in connection with the sale of relief items meant to benefit local people.
According to the police, the suspects are the mother, brother, and nephew of the minister of Karamoja affairs, Goretti Kitutu.
The suspects were found in possession of the items, and immediately arrested in a joint operation carried out by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the Police, and other sister agencies.
According to the police, the items recovered from the suspects’ residence were over 450 government-owned iron sheets meant to be distributed to beneficiaries in Karamoja.
Preliminary information indicates that the minister’s mother was later released due to her health condition, while the duo is still in custody at the Mayetse Police Station.
The Office of the Prime Minister, however, condemned the act done by the family members of Minister Mary Gorette Kitutu and the minister herself for misusing government items meant for vulnerable people, interest groups, institutions, and reformed warriors.
The Prime Minister’s office has asked the Police to carry out thorough investigations and take serious action to bring all culprits to justice once they are proven guilty.
The minister is yet to issue a statement in regards to the arrest.
In 2022, the Statehouse Anti-Corruption Unit arrested over 52 Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) over corruption.
During the 37th National Liberation Day celebrations on January 26 2023, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni vowed to take serious action against corrupt government officials as a means of phasing out corruption and assured citizens that corruption would be stamped out of Uganda.