A forensic scientist, Mr Andrew Kizimula Mubiru, hands over the exhibits after testifying before court on August 27, 2024. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
At 10:12am presiding Judge Isaac Muwata walks into the courtroom.
Assistant DPP Samali Wakooli: My lord, we shall be joined by Mr Jonathan Muwaganya later. The accused persons who are all in court are represented by Peter Kabatsi, Elison Karuhanga, Nabagala Hanat, and senior counsel Macdosman Kabega. The accessors are also in court today.
Judge: Are you ready?
Kabega: My lord, we are ready.
Witness, Mr Andrew Kizimula Mubiru, the acting director of Forensics Services at Police, walks to the witness dock.
Judge: You are still on oath, you shouldn’t exceed lunchtime. Try to fit in that time.
Kabega: My lord, can the witness be given exhibit 2B? Can you look at the exhibit?
Judge: What is that?
Kabega: Police form 17A.
Judge: Dated?
Kabega: November 6. Mr Mubiru, I want you to listen carefully. Did you receive a black pistol, CZ9 loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition in a magazine and one in the chamber?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: Can you look at Police form 17?
Witness: My lord, I received a pistol magazine, with 10 live ammunition removed from the pistol.
Kabega: And you received them on November 6, 2023, correct?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: Can you read to the court the first item on that form that you received on that day?
Witness: My lord, this is D-3, D-4
Kabega: What are they?
Witness: Swabs received during post-mortem.
Kabega: What was item 5 listed as?
Witness: The description here is one suspected one pistol live ammunition recovered on the deceased’s bed.
Judge: Recovered from the bed of the deceased?
Witness: Yes
Kabega: My lord, here with me is DID2A. What is the first item?
Witness: This is exhibit marked 4-3.
Kabega: What is it?
Witness: My lord, the description is a sab from the trigger of the pistol gun UG1622200061CZ99.
Witness: This is a swab from the trigger of the pistol CZ 99 compact.
Kabega: Did you use that swab?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: The swab you used to examine that trigger was not supplied to you by the police, is that correct?
Witness: True, my lord.
Kabega: And it’s your evidence that the swab you used was consumed?
Witness: That is correct, my lord.
Kabega: The swab you used is not in court, correct?
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: All the swabs that were given to you by the police that you used to analyse in your examination are in court?
Witness: All the exhibits submitted to me by the police are in court.
Kabega: The swabs supplied to you by the police for you to examine are in court.
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: Asks that the witness be handed exhibits.
Kabega: Now, did you get a swab from the police for that stick?
Witness: This is PID 30.
Kabega: Did the police provide you with a swab for that stick?
Witness: No.
Kabega: There is no form 17A from the police submitted with a swab to examine that stick
Witness: Yes.
Kabega: You examined that stick?
Witness: Yes.
Kabega: You provided your own swab?
Witness: Yes.
Kabega: Are you in position to show court which side of the stick you took the swab from?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: Where?
Witness: I swabbed the stick.
Kabega: Does your report of DNA indicate that you swabbed the length of the stick?
Witness: I said I swabbed the stick.
Kabega: Does your report indicate that you swabbed the length of the stick?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: Mr Mubiru what is that?
Witness: It's a wooden stick.
Kabega: Again, the police never provided you with the swab from that stick, did they?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: You are the one who swabbed that stick?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: Your DNA report doesn't show which part of the stick you swabbed, does it?
Witness: No, it doesn’t.
Kabega: The swab that you claim you used on that stick is also not in court, correct?
Witness: That is correct, my lord.
Kabega: What is that?
Witness: My lord, this is exhibit 24-1, a copper walking stick.
Kabega: You have no police form 17A submitting to you a swab for that walking stick?
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: You provided your own swab for that stick?
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: And from which part of it did you get the swab?
Witness: The entire length of the stick.
Kabega: And your report does not indicate that you swabbed the entire length of that stick.
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: And the swab you used is not in court?
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: What is this?
Witness: This exhibit marked 21.
Kabega: What is it?
Witness: It’s a mopping rag.
Kabega: The police never provided you with a swab from that rag, did they?
Witness: No.
Kabega: You provided your own swab?
Witness: The swab was not provided for
Kabega: Why?
Witness: No.
Witness: In my assessment, there was nothing peculiar about it.
Kabega: I want to take you to pages 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 of your report. Mr Mubiru, did the police supply you with those photographs?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: Who took them?
Witness: I supervised those who took them.
Kabega: Who took the photographs? When did you take them?
Witness: These photographs were taken on the dates when the exhibits were examined.
Judge: On different days.
Kabega: My lord, the question I posed is when were they taken?
Witness: There are different dates.
Kabega: Does your report indicate that you took those photographs?
Witness: No, my lord.
Kabega: Your report does not also show when you took them.
Witness: No, it doesn’t.
Kabega: On page 38, what is the photograph on the right?
Witness: The top right photograph is described the same as the left side photograph, just the exhibit submitted.
Judge: Which is?
Witness: Just the general exhibit submitted.
Kabega: I can see a date there, when was it taken. Is that the date you received them or when you took the photographs?
Witness: That is the date when we unpacked them. When we receive the exhibits, we take a general photo.
Kabega: What date is indicated in that photograph?
Witness: It's dated November 4, 2023.
Kabega: That is when you received those exhibits?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: So what did you receive on that day?
Witness: On that day my lord, I received a number of exhibits. I request that I read them out one by one. They are M1, M2, M3, M4, K, M5, M6, M7, D6, D7, D8, D9, H, D10, 4, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17-1, KH1, KH2.
Kabega: I want to suggest to you Mr Mubiru that by that date, you were not in possession of some of those exhibits.
Kabega: Let's go to page 41 of your report, what is it?
Witness: It’s a black Zastava arms pistol
Kabega: Is it accompanied by an envelope?
Witness: Yes, there is a package.
Kabega: The envelope has a marking of store number.
Witness: It's evidence-based.
Kabega: Let me take you back to police form 17A. What was the examination required?
Witness: Compare the DNA on the exhibits with the DNA traces on the exhibit marked D1, M4, K, and ND.
Kabega: What was ND?
Kabega: ND, my lord from the exhibits submitted, is a mouth swab from Dennise Nayebare.
Kabega: Can I suggest to you Mr Mubiru the police did not have a swab for Nayebare, it’s actually you who asked them to do it.
Witness: I don’t know whether the police had that form.
Kabega: Can you look at DID4?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: When is it dated?
Witness: November 6, 2023.
Kabega: Does it indicate having a swab from Nayebare
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: And Nayebare swab was received on November 6?
Witness: Yes, my lord.
Kabega: So the police could not request you to carry out a comparison which you didn't have. So it's you who asked the police to provide Ayebare swab.
Witness: My lord, that is not true.
Kabega: Assistant Commissioner of Police Mubiru, I want to make an application to have him back at a later date.
Judge: That is it for this witness for now, will you be ready to re-examine him? [the judge asks the prosecution side]
Wakooli: Yes, we are ready. We have a couple of questions to ask him but are asking for 30 30-minute stand over.
