Sheet metal saga: Minister Lugoloobi calls for dismissal of charges against him

Lawyers for Minister of State for Finance Amos Lugoloobi have asked the court to dismiss the charges against the government official in the sheet iron scandal.

On Monday, defense lawyers led by John Isabirye asked the anti-corruption court presided over by Justice Jane Kanjuga to dismiss the charges against the minister of state.

“We hold that there was no evidence to prove the essential elements of the crimes against the accused and that the evidence presented to this court by the prosecution was so divided on cross-examination and was so unreliable that no reasonable court can rely on this,” Isabirye introduced.

He added: “The defendant had nothing in his head to believe he was dealing with suspicious property.”

The prosecution led by Josephine Namatovu opposed the filing stating that prosecutors have already presented a prima facie case against the minister, showing sufficient evidence to support the charges.

“The defense did not dispute that the accused received the sheets but spoke of contradictions in the witnesses and from the time the accused received sheets (between July 2023 and 2024), he was holding them in different places” , Namatovu. presented

“In his farm some iron sheets were found and his workers were found removing the pre-painted iron sheets with which they were not marked. Our contention is that until these iron sheets were recovered, they were held by the accused,” he added.

Namatovu informed the court that only 1,000 iron sheets were removed from the stores of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), leaving 9,000 sheets which were distributed among select ministers with the authorization of former Karamoja Minister Mary Goretti. Kitutu. The defendant is one of the ministers who illegally received the sheets.

The trial judge adjourned the case to November 14 to decide whether there is a case to answer.

The prosecution alleges that on July 14, 2022 and February 2023 at OPM shops in Namanve in Mukono District and at different locations in Matugga, Wakiso District and Ntenjeru North Constituency in Kayunga District, Lugoloobi engaged in government property; 400 iron sheets previously painted with the mark “Office of the Prime Minister” with reason to believe that the said iron sheets were acquired as a result of the loss of public property, an offense under Article 10(1) of the Anti-corruption law.

In the second account, the prosecution said Lugoloobi between February 1, 2023 and March 16, 2023 at OPM shops in Namanve and at different locations in Matugga, and in Ntenjeru dealt with suspicious properties, ie ; 300 pre-painted iron sheets marked “Office of the Prime Minister”, having reason to believe that the said iron sheets were acquired as a result of the loss of public property, an offense under Article 10 (I) of the Anti-Corruption Law.

The documentary evidence against Lugoloobi includes his terms and conditions as Minister of State, guidelines for the distribution of iron sheets dated 22 March 2022, work plan for the distribution of iron sheets in the sub-region of Karamoja, schedule of iron sheet recipients and Crime Scene Officer Reports.

Others include a search warrant in respect of the search conducted at his farm, search warrants for the iron sheets that were returned to the OPM stores by the accused, the goods of OPM received notes for iron sheets that were returned and exhibit reviews. regarding the iron sheets recovered among others.