Ugandan prosecutors have announced they will charge a minister with corruption over the diversion of roof sheets intended to help people living in the troubled north-eastern Karamoja region.
Prosecutions of ministers for corruption are rare in Uganda, where theft and misuse of public funds and materials are commonplace.
In a remote region bordering Kenya and South Sudan, the Karamoja region is home to nomadic pastoralists, vulnerable to frequent droughts and deadly cattle raids.
Police arrested three close relatives of Karamoja Affairs Minister Mary Goretti Kitutu in February for selling metal roofing panels bearing the words “Office of the Prime Minister,” according to a report in the state-owned newspaper New Vision.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said late Wednesday it would charge Kitutu with corruption and conspiracy to commit a crime “for the diversion of sheet iron destined for the Karamoja Community Empowerment Program.”
Kitutu, who is due to appear in court Thursday, was unavailable for immediate comment as her phone was turned off.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee last month, she asked forgiveness for the mismanagement of roof sheeting distribution.
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