Former Ugandan state minister Agnes Nandutu was sentenced Friday to four years in jail for stealing thousands of roofing materials for the poor in a scandal that sparked outrage in the country.

In 2022, several senior government officials diverted 14,500 iron sheets that were meant for vulnerable communities in the northeastern Karamoja region.

Nandutu, former state minister for Karamoja affairs, was found guilty of stealing 2,000 of the sheets, which she allegedly used for personal purposes.

She was handed four years behind bars, according to the ruling seen by AFP.

Currently a lawmaker allied with the ruling party, Nandutu was also banned from holding public office for 10 years.

Apologised for theft

During her court appearance, Nandutu apologised for the theft of the iron sheets, the court noted, calling it her "saving grace".

"A fine alone, the highest of which is a paltry" 3.2 million Ugandan shillings (less than $1,000) "would be inadequate", judge Jane Okuo Kajuga wrote in the ruling.

"It is important to send (the) message that corruption does not pay and that dealing with proceeds of corruption is punishable," she added.

After the ruling, Nandutu's lawyer told AFP it was "the harshest punishment handed over to someone who was misled, and apologised for the mistake she made".

He added he was considering an appeal.

Prosecutors said in a statement the sentence was "both just and proportionate", reflecting the "seriousness of the offence, the responsibility attached to the office held, and the need to deter similar conduct".

Sacked from cabinet

Nandutu was placed in pre‑trial detention in 2023 and dismissed from her ministerial post the following year.

President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country since 1986, has personally assured that "all those involved will be handled appropriately".

Northeastern Karamoja borders Kenya and Sudan and is Uganda's poorest region.

It has long faced persistent droughts, flooding and landslides, as well as plagues of locusts and armyworms.