By KT Reporter
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has withdrawn charges of dealing with suspect property against the State Minister for Finance, Amos Lugoloobi, effectively setting him free in the long-running Karamoja Iron Sheets Scandal.
Lugoloobi was accused of having received 700 iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja and allegedly using them to roof an animal shed at his farm in Kayunga District. The iron sheets were reportedly obtained in two phases between July 2022 and March 2023.
For over a year, the Minister had been on trial after the court found he had a case to answer. Several prosecution witnesses, including a Church Reverend, testified against him. But on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, when the case came up for the defence to present additional witnesses, the DPP formally withdrew the case before Lady Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga, the Acting Principal Judge.
State Attorney Gloria Inzikuru tendered the nolle prosequi dated November 7, 2025, indicating that the DPP had lost interest in pursuing the matter. Under Article 120 of the Constitution, the DPP has the power to discontinue any criminal proceedings at any stage before judgment. Consequently, Justice Kajuga discharged Lugoloobi, noting that there was no longer a case before the court unless he was held on other charges.
Throughout the trial, Minister Lugoloobi, represented by lawyer John Isabirye, maintained his innocence, describing the prosecution as selective and unfair. He argued that while the scandal had implicated many high-ranking officials, only three ministers, himself, Agnes Nandutu, and Mary Goretti Kitutu, were taken to court.
Lugoloobi insisted that he received the iron sheets in his capacity as an MP and minister, following established government procedures for affirmative action programs under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). He said his constituency, Ntenjeru North in Kayunga District, lies within the Luwero Triangle, an area eligible for affirmative action support similar to that extended to Karamoja, Teso, and Northern Uganda.
“It’s normal practice for the OPM to channel support to MPs, like beans, flour, and iron sheets, especially when communities are affected by disasters or under affirmative action programs,” Lugoloobi said.
He explained that his political assistant, Allan Damulira, coordinated the collection and storage of the iron sheets in Nansana after his aide, Hawa Bawaya, informed him about the allocation from the OPM’s Luwero-Rwenzori Program. Lugoloobi denied any knowledge that the materials were meant for Karamoja, claiming the prosecution’s evidence did not specify their intended beneficiaries.
When President Yoweri Museveni later directed all recipients to return the iron sheets, Lugoloobi said he complied, replacing the sheets with new ones purchased at his own cost and returning them to the OPM.
“All the people I mentioned confessed publicly that they had received iron sheets. The media was awash with their stories, but they were never charged,” he told the court.
The Karamoja Iron Sheets Scandal erupted in 2023 after it emerged that relief items meant for vulnerable communities in the region had been diverted to senior government officials. Alongside Lugoloobi, Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu and State Minister Agnes Nandutu were also charged.
Nandutu’s case is expected to resume in December 2025, while Kitutu’s trial has been delayed following allegations that she was tortured while in custody.
In June 2023, DPP Jane Frances Abodo revealed that out of 40 related investigations, only three cases proceeded to court. Seventeen files were closed for lack of evidence, while several others stalled after findings showed that some politicians had been misled by their assistants and were unaware of the true source or intended beneficiaries of the iron sheets.
With Tuesday’s withdrawal, Minister Lugoloobi walks free, marking a major turn in one of Uganda’s most publicised corruption scandals in recent years.
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