I did not ask for iron sheets – Matia Kasaija 

In an 800-word transcript of his question-and-answer phone interview on CBS radio’s Nze Nga Bwendaba programme, MATIA KASAIJA, the minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, discusses how he received the 300 iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

Kasaija, who doubles as the Buyanja member of parliament (MP), is accused, along with other senior cabinet members, of fraudulently receiving iron sheets from the OPM under the infamous “Karamoja iron sheet bonanza.” Samuel Muhindo transcribed the discussion with minimal adjustments.

How did you get the iron sheets?

The iron sheets were given to me. I had not even requested for them. I was called to assign someone to pick up my iron sheets from the ministry. I appreciated the kind gesture because you do not refuse a free thing. I have constituents in the village who would need the iron sheets.

There are claims that the iron sheets were meant for Karamoja…

I don’t know about that because I don’t work at the OPM. I don’t even know the source of these iron sheets. I received a letter requesting me to designate someone to pick up my iron sheets. I got a lorry that took the iron sheets to our area in Karubindi.

Don’t you think you got the iron sheets through dubious means?

How were they got dubiously? Would you refuse a free shirt if someone invited you to come and pick it up?

It would depend.

Depend on what? These are public servants, and I am also a public servant and an MP. Will I be in violation of the OPM’s request that I send someone to pick up iron sheets needed by my constituents to build their homes?

Doesn’t the OPM have processes for the distribution of items?

I didn’t steal. I didn’t get these iron sheets through dubious means. It is not the first time that I have received these iron sheets. The former minister of state for Bunyoro Affairs also gave me iron sheets.

How come, other ministers, didn’t get the iron sheets?

That is not my question to answer. I am not the one who distributed these iron sheets. I just received the iron sheets like the rest.

Why has the president ordered an investigation if you got these iron sheets through the right means?

You cannot ask me this question because I am not in charge of the Office of the Prime Minister. If I tell you that I have five crates of beer, come for one, do you have to consult first before taking the crate of beer?

Yes! The government is meant to have outlined procedures.

True, but I have already told you that I am both a minister and a member of parliament. If a government agency asks me to pick iron sheets; how would I begin to ask why iron sheets have been allocated to me?

But you didn’t requisition these iron sheets, Honorable?

(Laughs). Do we request everything that they give us? Someone thinks on our behalf because they know our problems. Have you ever run a constituency? I have committed no crime. I did not steal. I did not divert anything. I was not the only one who received these iron sheets. I will account for all my iron sheets. There’s no iron sheet that I either sold or used to build my own house.

The Inspector General of Government is investigating.

Let her investigate. She should go and see the iron sheets.

Are there set-out procedures on how to access these items?

Put that question to the OPM. It would only have been wrong if I (as the minister of Finance) had allowed them to access money for the iron sheets without a budget supporting this expenditure. My job is to ensure that their budget allocation is approved by parliament, and I then give them the money that they budgeted for. I am not meant to follow up on how the money is spent. It is not possible at all.

Isn’t this reasoning disastrous for the nation?

How disastrous is it? Are you trying to say that you know how every penny is spent at CBS radio?

I am not in the finance department at CBS Radio. I am almost ending this call. Let me ask you: were those other beneficiaries of the iron sheets also in finance?

I have already made it clear that I am also a member of parliament. Have you ever run a constituency? If they had told me to take the iron sheets and sell them, I wouldn’t have taken them.

Haven’t you heard about those who sold the iron sheets?

Don’t ask me about those things. Ask those who were found selling the iron sheets. Everyone has a crime. Even if they take me to court, I will tell them the truth. I didn’t request these iron sheets.

What were they appreciating you for?

What do you mean by what they were appreciating me for? What is the government appreciating me for when it gives me my salary? Let me end this call. (Ends call)

Other senior government ministers embroiled in the slow simmering scandal of the iron sheet bonanza are Rebecca Kadaga, Jacob Oboth Oboth, Hamson Obua, Amos Lugolobi, etc. In a February 22, 2023, tweet, Rebecca Kadaga, the first deputy prime minister of Uganda, confirmed she requested and received 250 iron sheets from the OPM.

These iron sheets, according to Kadaga, facilitated the repair of Buzaaya Health Center II, located at Buwooya, Bugulumbya sub-county, in Kamuli district.

“I also received 250 iron sheets from the Prime Minister’s Office to repair Buwooya primary school, which, like the health Center II, had been destroyed by a hailstorm,” Kadaga added.

On February 27, 2023, New Vision reported that the iron sheets that Minister of State for Planning Amosi Lugoloobi received were used to roof a cow shed. Lugolobi had received 300 iron sheets from the OPM under voucher 8527.

When requesting for the iron sheets, Lugolobi said they would be used to roof churches, schools, and other community projects in his constituency. He did not return our calls or answer text messages sent to his known phone number by press time.

In a February 22, 2023 letter to the clerk to the parliament of Uganda, seven members from the Karamoja sub-region said they had prepared a motion to censure Mary Goretti Kitutu, the minister for Karamoja Affairs.

Her censure is premised on two grounds: abuse of office/ willful violation of the oath of allegiance or oath of office) and mismanagement of resources.

The censure notice read in part, “We have taken this decision based on the following particulars: a) The minister for Karamoja Affairs has failed to deliver iron sheets and other supplies meant for Karamoja to support the ongoing disarmament exercise. These supplies were financed through the supplementary budget that Parliament passed in December 2021. b) Diversion of some of the items to non-intended beneficiaries, depriving the intended beneficiaries of the Karamoja sub-region”.

Approximately two weeks ago, the media reported the arrests of Cotilda Kitutu, Michael Nabwaya, and Julius Wabule. The accused are the mother, brother, and nephew of Minister Kitutu, the Karamoja Affairs Minister.

The three were discovered selling OPM-branded iron sheets to residents of Namisindwa district, in eastern Uganda. Minister Kitutu had requested 12,200 iron sheets to aid her in community mobilization and peace-building missions in Karamoja. Her January 12, 2023, internal memo to the stores’ department at the OPM read in part, “During community mobilization and peace-building missions, I usually meet vulnerable groups and karuchunas (reformed warriors) who are willing to dissociate themselves from rustling. As part of my intervention, I will be distributing iron sheets to such special vulnerable groups.”

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