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Katanga and his Wife Molly in their happy times
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A senior police officer has testified that Molly Katanga’s daughter told him her father, Henry Katanga, committed suicide by shooting himself. On Tuesday, Assistant Inspector of Police Samuel Musede, the officer in charge of community policing at Bugolobi Police Station, told the court presided over by Justice Isaac Muwata that Patricia Kakwanza claimed her father committed suicide in the absence of her mother, Molly.
“On November 2, 2023, at about 8:00 am, Kakwanza called me when I was in Mukono district, saying somebody, whom she later revealed was her father, had committed suicide by shooting himself,” Musede told the court.
Kakwanza is facing charges of destroying evidence and being an accessory after the fact to murder, along with her sister Martha Nkwanzi. Others facing the same charges are George Amanyire, a domestic worker, and Charles Otai, a nursing officer. Molly Katanga is accused of murdering her husband, businessman Henry Katanga, which she has denied.
Katanga, a renowned businessman, succumbed to a gunshot wound to his head on November 2, 2023, at their residence on Mbuya Chwa II Road in Kampala, according to the prosecution. The offence of murder attracts a maximum sentence of death upon conviction. Destroying evidence and being an accessory to murder each carry a seven-year jail term.
Musede narrated that when he reached Kakwanza’s home in Mbuya, he was ushered into the house by a chef, who took him to the sitting room, where he met Kakwanza, who introduced him to Otai. Musede and Otai then proceeded to the bedroom, where Henry Katanga’s body was lying. In the bedroom, the witness said he found Amanyire cleaning the floor, which had blood, with a bucket. Besides the body lying on a three-inch mattress, the witness said he also found a pistol and cartridge.
The police officer testified that Kakwanza told him the incident took place in the absence of her mother, Molly. The witness, however, said he did not ask much about Kakwanza’s mother but heard someone pouring water in the room where Katanga’s body was lying. Faced with the situation, Musede said Kakwanza and her colleagues sought advice, but he told them to stop whatever they were doing and communicated the incident to his boss, Peter Ogwang, who arrived at the scene shortly after. The court heard that Ogwang later arrived at the scene and handed it over to the Jinja Road Police team. In cross-examination by defense lawyer MacDosman Kabega, Musede said he has been in the police force for 31 years. He also confirmed that he was the first police officer to reach the crime scene.The witness confirmed to the court that Kakwanza told him the incident happened in the house.
Molly Katanga appearing in court sometime back
Medical Doctor Testifies
Another witness, Dr. Julius Muhwezi, told the court that on November 12, 2023, he examined Amanyire and Otai and found that they did not have any fresh or recent physical injuries on their bodies and appeared to be in normal mental status. Muhwezi, the Superintendent of Police attached to the Directorate of Police Health Services in Nsambya, revealed that he examined the suspects (Amanyire and Otai) on Police form 24, which he signed and stamped. The form was exhibited in court as prosecution evidence.
“When I was contacted to examine the suspects, I proceeded to the detention center where they were (Amanyire and Otai). Upon arrival, I liaised with the investigating officer and organized for a private room where I examined the suspects,” he said.
In cross-examination by defense lawyer Elison Karuhanga, Muhwezi confirmed that the suspects did not sign the police form. The witness also confirmed that he did not have corroborative evidence to show that the accused signed the form other than his testimony. Muhwezi also told the court that he did not know whether the suspects were detained for over 48 hours but said he also examines suspects who have been detained illegally. Tasked by Karuhanga to explain why he signed and stamped the Police form 24 twice (on November 12 and 13, 2023), the witness maintained that he did so once, on November 12. The witness stated that he signed the police form for Amanyire and Otai on November 12, 2023, but the date stamp of November 13, 2023, appeared to be altered.
“The date of November 13, 2023, does not appear to come from our stamp although my signature is there,” he said.
Plea Rejected
The witness testified after the court rejected a bid by lawyers representing Molly Katanga to turn the chief prosecutor into a witness. Led by Peter Kabatsi, the lawyers wanted the court to let the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (ADPP) in the case, Samali Wakooli, be a witness, arguing that she prepared and signed the summary of evidence, which contained the closed-circuit television (CCTV) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reports. However, Justice Muwata stated that the contents of a summary of the case are proved by evidence, not by the prosecutor who prepares the indictment. “The mere preparation of a summary of the case does not make a prosecutor a witness in a matter. The defense will always have the opportunity to exercise their rights to cross-examine the witnesses who appear in court to tender such evidence,” he noted.
The judge explained that Article 120 (3) (a) of the Constitution gives the Director of Public Prosecutions powers to guide the Police during investigations, as is the case in the Katanga murder trial.
Muwata said the authors of the DNA and CCTV reports are competent witnesses to testify in the matter and that the reports have already been disclosed to the defense team. The judge observed that the contents of the summary of the offence are not evidence requiring the court to order the prosecutor who prepared and signed it to become a witness.
He explained that section 168 of the Magistrates Court Act (MCA) provides that when a person is charged in a magistrate’s court with an offence triable by the High Court, the DPP files an indictment and a summary of the case signed by him or her or by an authorized officer.
The judge said the summary of the case contains particulars necessary to give the accused information to enable them to prepare their defense. Molly followed the proceedings from Luzira Prison via audio-video link, while her co-accused were present in court. Molly consented to being absent physically in court on the grounds that she is sick and weak.
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