According to the jail administration, Ms. Mary Gorreti Kitutu, the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, is not receiving special treatment in prison.
After appearing before the Kololo-based Anti-Corruption Court on April 6 on allegations of causing loss of public property and conspiracy to defraud in connection with the iron sheet affair, the minister and her brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, were detained in Luzira prison.
Reason for Detainment
After being charged in connection with the theft of thousands of metal roofing sheets, a Ugandan cabinet official, Mary Goretti Kitutu Kimono, will spend Easter in jail. The roofing sheets were meant for vulnerable people in the Karamoja region’s northeast.
She was charged with obtaining 100 corrugated iron sheets along with her brother, Michael Naboya Kitutu, who pleaded not guilty. On arriving at the court, she covered her head and face with a piece of cloth to protect herself from the clamoring reporters. Her lawyer had requested bail, claiming that she was a prominent person with medical issues who would not interfere with prosecution witnesses.
According to Frank Baine, the spokesperson for prisons, Ms. Kitutu is not getting special care, as has been speculated.
Speaking to the media in Kampala on Tuesday, Mr. Baine claimed that rumours had started to circulate that the minister had received special care while at Luzira and had even begun a hunger strike.
“The minister and her brother are being treated like any other inmates,” he said.
Mr. Baine stated that the minister is acting appropriately and giving the jail administration good feedback.
The Kitutus were imprisoned for the Easter break after failing to obtain last-minute bail from the Anti-Corruption Court.
The two are charged with misusing iron sheets intended for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Initiative.
Today’s hearing on their bail application is scheduled for when they return to court.