A judge at the
anti-corruption court has banned live broadcast inside court in the ongoing
trial against Karamoja affairs minister, Mary Goretti Kitutu.
Kitutu, her
senior assistant secretary Joshua Abaho and her brother Michael Naboya Kitutu
appeared in court yesterday, where they took plea after being committed to the
high court for trial on June 29th.
Minister
Kitutu faces two counts of loss of public property and one count of conspiracy
to defraud, which the state claims caused the loss of public property to wit
9000 pre-painted iron sheets intended for the Karamoja community empowerment
program.
Justice Jane
Okuo Kajuga’s decision was prompted by Kitutu’s lawyer James Akampumuza who
sought an order for court reporters to restrict themselves to allowable
parameters on reporting only on what transpires in court, without arriving at
or making biased conclusions.
The judge
held that whereas there is right to access to information, the court is also
mindful that proper limitations can be placed on the exercise of that right
while balancing the right to information and the right to a fair trial.