The month of November, 2023 will forever send shock waves to the family, friends and relatives of the late business man Henry Katanga. The kind-hearted man as many fondly referred him met his horrific death in the comfort of his home in which he had spent a night with his wife Molly Bunanukye Katanga. Molly has vehemently denied any wrong doing. That denial alone sets the bar to high for the prosecutions to pin her beyond reasonable doubt.

Since Henry’s death, there has been a lot of anxiety with different people giving varying versions of how the kind hearted man met his mysterious death. It is now well over 8 months in pursuit of justice for the deceased and in equal measure justice for the accused persons. In criminal law, justice is not single sided, whichever the outcome is called justice.

Other than Molly who has made frantic attempts to secure bail in vain, the other accused persons on the same file but different charges are free and going about their business. Even when the world has already passed judgment against Molly for taking her husband’s life under very unclear circumstances, the laws of this land still deem her innocent. That will remain the case until she pleads guilty or until she is found guilty by a competent court.

It is said that on the fateful day while Henry was lying in a pool of blood-dead or alive, his wife Molly Katanga was hurriedly picked from the crime scene and taken to IHK for treatment for injuries said to have been sustained in the same bedroom. The pertinent question that the prosecution will ask and perhaps answer itself is whether or not there was a prior fight in that bedroom or the shot was taken by a third party.

Behind the scenes, Patricia Kakwanzi and Martha Nkwanzi were arrested alongside a domestic worker George Amanyire as well as a medical officer Charles Otai. These four spent some time on remand but were granted bail having met the legal and procedural requirements. I personally feel the pain of the two daughter for doing what they did, even in the pursuit of justice, nobody  wants to lose two parents, one to death and the other to life in prison, shielding the surviving one is a natural reaction that will only subject them to living with that guilt if at all.

The charges that were slapped against Patricia and Martha include the destruction of crucial evidence that could have aided in prosecuting their mother said to be the brain behind Henry’s murder while Amanyire George and Otai Charles are facing charges of interfering with the crime scene when they evacuated Molly from the bedroom before the arrival of police.

Let us briefly look at the charges against the other four accused persons; it is destruction of crucial evidence. What does this mean?, it is a confession on the part of the prosecution that there are glaring gaps in their evidence as the four tampered with the scene of crime and destroyed crucial evidence leaving the investigators with nothing to rely on.

So far, the prosecution has an uphill task of proving beyond reasonable doubt that Molly is and is the one who pulled that trigger that took the life of Henry. Sleeping in the same bedroom and or sharing the same bed does not rule out a possibility that the couple could have been attacked by robbers on the fateful day. There is also a chance that on hearing about the scuffle, one of the kids or Amanyire or a third party took advantage and shot.

During a funeral services at All Saints Church Nakasero, Naume Nyangweso, a sister to the late Henry Katanga told the mourners that given her military background, she believed there was no chance that her brother shot himself on the left side of the head since he had always been right handed. This implies that Katanga bullet wound was found on the left side of his head and that the shooting was done by a somebody else not being Henry.

Now that Henry’s death is already confirmed, prosecution will be required to establish the motive behind the murder and will be required to pin Molly with real tangible evidence that she is the one responsible for the death in order to secure a murder conviction or manslaughter failure of which the court will have no option but to set her free.

I can see them relying on the post mortem report, cctv footage if any, the accused demeanor in taking refuge in hospital in the name of treatment, the killer gun if at all it was found and past grudges if any. They may largely rely on circumstantial evidence but I will not go into details to avoid offending the subjudice rule.

All that Molly needs to do is to say she was sleeping, she does not know what happened only to wake up in hospital. That she does not know how she sustained the wound on her head. She does not know how she became unconscious and that she does not know how she left her bedroom to the hospital. By doing this, she would have pushed the entire burden to the prosecution. They will fumble and gamble until they give up.

I can see the court taking a keen interest in the evidence of a one John Mutahunga said to be a friend of the Katanga family and Naume Nyangweso if they will be willing to testify. Mutahunga’s narrative seems to suggest the whole dispute that led to the death of Henry could be associated with money and the desire to have influence of their investments. To be able to have influence requires one to be in cahoots with those who have it.

Given the kind of business the couple was operating, it means Molly could have aligned herself with influential figures within the military and the missing link is to identify those officers if any They could have had a hand in the murder with or without the involment of Molly, such is the power of money especially for those who cut deals but cant share.

Be that as it may, other sources seem to suggest the killing could be associated with infidelity and under covert schemes which unearthed some DNA issues within the family. The prosecution may need to engage the official Lawyers of the late Henry to establish if there was any will and testament or threatened court actions in regard to the estate or the business empire.

Unconfirmed reports also suggest that there were under cover withdrawals of huge sums of money from a joint account immediately after Henry’s death while another sum was frozen by Stanbic Bank on its own motion. It is alleged that the Bank was not aware of Henry’s death and therefore allowed one of the trusted member of the family to withdraw huge sums of money as was the norm when Henry was still alive.

The evidence allegedly suggests a disturbing conspiracy between some family members pointing to unresolved long term misunderstandings. Could children actually connive with their mother to backstab their own father? That is one of the questions that must be answered in the affirmative in order to show court that it could have contributed to the decision to eliminate Henry.

I can personally see the amendment of the charge sheet to include Molly’s two daughters as potential suspects and I can see their bail being cancelled. The tragic tale of Henry Katanga serves as a reminder of the dangers associated with broken families and forming cliques. As Molly Katanga and her alleged accomplices await trial, Henry Katanga’s legacy as an accomplished business man is no more. We hope the truth will come out to allow the broader family heal and come to terms with Henry’s death.

Molly’s numerous attempts to enjoy temporary freedom have fallen on rocky grounds with the trial Judge His Lordship Isaac Muwata opting for a swift hearing and set July 2, 2024 to begin the hearing of in Criminal Case No. 043 of 2023. The defence team says they are prepared but not ready to proceed with the hearing yet until the prosecution obeys the directive of court for disclosure of all the pre-trial evidence.  

I still wonder why the DPP still exhibits such high handedness. Disclosure is a mandatory requirement under the law aimed at avoiding ambushing the opposite party. I want to believe these documents being sought after are not privileged. I also believe these documents could have influenced the decision of the DPP to charge the accused persons and ought to be made available to the defense; that is a practice you can dispense with.

The failure to disclose all the documents as was directed by court on 12^th March, 2024 could be deliberate to cause unnecessary delay on the hearing slated for July, 2, 2024, and cause prolonged unnecessary adjournments. By the deadline on May, 3, 2024, the prosecution was still dilly dallying and had only disclosed partially in total disregard to the court order.

The DPP in refusing to disclose Naume Nyangweso’s statement, Henry’s postmortem report, raw video footage of the crime scene, crime scene entry logs, and detailed DNA test procedures has justified their decision in the name of avoiding to break the chain of evidence.

It is a well known practice that access to pre-trial evidence is a fundamental right, and the prosecution’s refusal to disclose when the court had ordered them to do amounts to contempt of a court and is a total violation of due process and ought to be condemned. By requesting for complete disclosure, the prosecution is simply advocating for transparency in the judicial process and reinforcing the importance of due process in the criminal justice system.

Disclosing all the evidence in the hands of the prosecution allows the defence to adequately prepare for trial and ensure that the proceedings are fair and just. If the defence cannot oblige, the judge may choose to recuse himself from the matter and have the file returned to the Registrar for re-allocation to another judge ready willing to entertain prosecutorial misconduct that could cast the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution in bad light.

Wadada Rogers is a commentator on political, legal and social issues. Wadroger @yahoo.ca