The State Minister for Finance and Planning who also is the Ntenjeru North Member of Parliament, Mr. Amos Lugoloobi has been denied bail by the Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo where the minister on Monday denied charges of dealing in suspected stolen property in relation to the Karamoja iron sheets.
Lugoloobi has been remanded to Luzira prison until April 20, 2023, as court studies the party’s submissions presented for his bail application. The minister through his lawyers had applied for bail on grounds of ill health.
He was arraigned before the Anti-Corruption Court presided over by the Acting Senior Principal grade one magistrate Abert Asiimwe and denied the said offences.
Prosecution states that the minister between July 2022 and March 2023 at the Office of the Prime Minister stores in Namanve and different places in Matugga and Kayunga, dealt with government property including 700 pre-painted iron sheets having reason to believe that they were public property.
The state prosecutor, Stanley Moses Baine informed court that inquiries into the matter are still underway and asked for more time to finalize.
His lawyers’ attempt to secure his bail fell on deaf ears.
“I wish to submit that the accused is a Member of Parliament. He doesn’t only have responsibilities to his family but to the country as a whole. If he’s denied bail, his family, constituency and ministry will be affected,” Lugoloobi’s lawyer said.
Minister’s side presented 7 sureties who among those include; Mariam Naigaga, the Namutumba district woman MP, James Kakooza, the EALA MP, Dr. Kefa Kiwanuka, the Kiboga East Member of Parliament, among others.
But the prosecution objected to the bail claims, saying the sureties were not substantial and the minister was likely to flee the country. The magistrate agreed with the state and sent him on remand.
