Here’s the testimony of Nandutu’s personal assistant that sealed her fate

Agnes Nandutu's fate was sealed by the testimony of her personal assistant, Evelyn Bazibu

As the court convenes today to sentence Agnes Nandutu, the former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, following her conviction in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal, there is one person she regrets meeting: her own political assistant, Evelyn Hilda Bazibu.

Details of the court proceedings show that Bazibu, who testified as Prosecution Witness 1 (PW1), helped put Nandutu at the centre of the saga that not only destroyed her political career but also damaged her personal reputation.

Bazibu testified that in June 2022, she was informed by Nandutu that the Minister for Karamoja Affairs had given her [Nandutu] 2,000 iron sheets to be collected from the OPM Stores in Namanve.

This was the first direct link between Nandutu and the iron sheets.

Bazibu told the court that she was not acting on her own. She was following clear instructions from her boss.

“She was instructed to collect the iron sheets and keep them temporarily while she found a suitable place for them,” Bazibu told the court.

She said she arranged for a truck with Reg NO UAZ 347 B and collected the 2,000 iron sheets as directed by Nandutu. Bazibu told the court that there were 166 bundles in total, each containing 12 iron sheets.

Crucially, Bazibu signed for them, and the document showed Nandutu as the recipient.

This single document tied the transaction directly to Nandutu, even though she was not physically present at the store.

Bazibu’s testimony did not stop at the collection.

She told the court that she first kept the iron sheets at her home in the garage. Later, she said the iron sheets were collected by John Watenga, Nandutu’s farm manager.

This part of her testimony was critical because it showed that Nandutu remained in control of the iron sheets even after they left government stores in Namanve.

Bazibu’s evidence also revealed that Nandutu later followed up on the iron sheets, showing personal interest in them.

In one exchange, Bazibu recalled a conversation with Nandutu.

“One day she [Nandutu] came home, and we talked about the iron sheets. She asked if we counted them well. I said yes. She asked how I counted I said we counted in bundles. There were 166 bundles,” Bazibu testified.

The court found this interaction important because it demonstrated that Nandutu was fully aware of the quantity and existence of the iron sheets.

Bazibu remained firm under questioning.

Even when the defence tried to suggest that the number of iron sheets could have been fewer, Bazibu’s account did not change.

At some point, Nandutu’s lawyers pointed out that there were inconsistencies in Bazibu’s testimony, especially about dates, but Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga dismissed these as not important.

“I consider the date-related contradictions minor and not impactful on the critical issue of the accused’s receipt of iron sheets,” she ruled.

What mattered most, she said, was that Bazibu’s testimony was supported by documents including the delivery note and ledger entries, and by testimony from store officials.

Bazibu’s role also helped the prosecution prove another key element: that Nandutu “dealt with” the iron sheets under the law.

By sending Bazibu to collect the iron sheets and later directing their movement to her farm, Nandutu fulfilled both actions.

While Bazibu relayed what Nandutu told her, the court acknowledged limits to her role.

Her testimony helped establish three critical facts.

First, that Nandutu received the iron sheets through her. Second, that she kept control of them. Third, that she was fully aware of their existence and quantity.

Combined with other evidence, this convinced the court that Nandutu had unlawfully dealt with government property.

In the end, Bazibu’s testimony was like a final nail in the coffin. It sealed Nandutu’s fate and left little doubt that she was a key participant in the saga.