The Government Chief Whip, Dennis Hamson Obua has defended officials implicated in the alleged abuse of iron sheets meant for vulnerable people in the Karamoja sub-region.

According to Obua, the officials did not break any rules since they just received the iron sheets from technocrats in the Office of the Prime Minister and therefore have no case to answer.

The Chief Whip, who was speaking to parliamentary reporters, revealed that he also received the iron sheets as a donation and could not turn it away.
Several senior government officials, including the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, ministers, and Members of Parliament have been implicated in a scandal where iron sheets meant for the disarmament program in the Karamoja region ended up in the homes of individuals, hundreds of miles from the deprived region.

The Government Chief Whip, Dennis Hamson Obua, is among the officials implicated in the iron sheets scandal. However, he says the officials have no case to answer much as many members of the public have called for their prosecution.

The scandal has seen some MPs, especially from the Karamoja region, call for the censure and resignation of the Minister of Karamoja Affairs, Dr. Mary Gorreti Kitutu who has since apologized for the bonanza, saying that she may not have received proper guidance.
President Yoweri Museveni has since called for a deeper investigation and the chief whip says he is ready to appear before the investigating body to testify.

Obua made the remarks during an interaction with journalists who report on Parliament. He says everyone is innocent until proven guilty and called for the respect of the constitution because investigations will bring out the truth.
Three teams from the Police, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), and the State House Anti-corruption Unit are investigating the iron sheets scandal.

However, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among took a drastic decision to buy and replace the iron sheets that she received and had used. State Minister for Finance in charge of Planning Amos Lugoloobi reportedly removed the so-called evil iron sheets from his village goat shed in Kayunga District,  

Some members of the public have applauded the gesture and others scorned it. But it’s yet to be seen whether these officials will be exonerated by the investigations.

Ramson