Selective prosecution, moral imbalance, and ubuntu-centred post-conviction justice: The conviction of Agnes Nandutu and the Karamoja iron sheets scandal

Abstract

The conviction of Agnes Nandutu by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Courton 8 April 2026 in connection with the Karamoja iron sheets scandal highlights a tension between procedural correctness and equitable justice in Uganda. While her conviction under s 21A(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2 was legally sound, the withdrawal of charges against co-implicated officials raises grave concerns under Article 21 of the Constitution of Uganda 1995, which guarantees equality beforethelaw.3 Ubuntu, an African ethical framework centred on relational personhood and restorative accountability, provides a jurisprudential basis for post-conviction corrective interventions — ensuring that justice is not merely procedurally valid but morally coherent, contextually grounded, and relationally complete