Katanga murder trial: State, defence lawyers clash in court

A bitter exchange of legal words on the evening of August 22, ensued between the state prosecutors from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and a host of defense lawyers representing the five people accused of being behind the death of city businessman Henry Katanga.
The clash climaxed with senior lawyer Peter Kabatsi, one of the founders of the Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA) reminding Assistant DPP Samali Wakooli, of how she was junior to him.
“My lord, junior, junior, sit down,” a visibly irritated Kabatsi said, referring to Ms Wakooli.

Despite being asked to sit down, Ms Wakooli hit back at Mr Kabatsi, who happens to be a former DPP and Solicitor General, who adamantly, shot back: “I’m   the state, let me address court first because I was given an audience before.”

As Ms Wakooli kept on addressing the court, presiding Judge Isaac Muwata said he already made his mini-ruling, which could only be appealed against in a higher court (the Court of Appeal).

The clash between the two opposing sides was sparked off when Justice Muwata asked the defense team to supply the court with copies of the journals that they were referring to during the cross-examination of the police pathologist Richard Ambayo.

During cross-examination of the pathologist for two days, one of the defense lawyers Elison Karuhanga presented peer-reviewed journals and textbooks, which he referred to questioning the core assumption in a gunshot wound analysis that a wound size alone can determine the entry point of a bullet.

Also, the defense team had insisted that solely relying on the size of the entry and exit size to establish entry and exit points in gunshot cases was misleading.
“I have already ruled that those texts you both referred to, should be given to the court, extracted from those articles, that is what I said,” Justice Muwata ruled.

But the judge’s ruling to look at the cited journals by the defense team, rubbed off on the prosecution team led by Ms Wakooli and Mr Jonathan Muwaganya.
“My lord, if the articles are intended to be supplied as evidence, evidence is not supplied casually,” Mr Muwaganya reminded the judge.

The judge hit back and reminded Mr Muwaganya of how the journals had been referred to by both parties and that it would be good practice if he also looked at them.
Mr Muwaganya insisted, telling the judge this was a criminal trial and that whatever evidence has to go through formal proof, however interesting it may be.

“However interesting these articles may be, the one who introduced them, bears the burden of the evidential proof before they go to the court record, so we can’t just supply them to court casually,” an irritated Mr Muwaganya told Justice Muwata.
As the arguments and counter arguments went on, Mr Karuhanga chipped in and said since the court has already made its decision, its functus officio and can't revisit it.

This angered Ms Wakooli more and shut him down.
“Stop being childish and sit down,” a very tough-talking Ms Wakooli shut down Mr Karuhanga, attracting laughter from the litigants, adding: “ My lord, I think there has to be some sanity at some point, because in a criminal trial…”
The legal verbal exchanges continued, and Senior Counsel Kabatsi was angered by the same.

“My lord, I object to counsel whether for the prosecution or defense entering into an altercation of the court. We are officers of the court. We should respect everything the court orders, it’s very discourteous to the court,” Mr Kabatis said, bringing to the end the bitter exchange.

The presiding judge adjourned the hearing of the case to Tuesday next week so the prosecution could bring more witnesses.
So far, seven prosecution witnesses have testified against the five accused persons, including Molly Katanga, the widow and key suspect.
On November 2, last year, businessman Katanga was found dead at his Mbuya residence in Kampala, with his wife, arrested as a key suspect. She has since denied the murder charge slapped against her.

She is jointly charged alongside her two daughters Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kakwanza, who both face lesser charges of destroying evidence and being an accessory after the fact of murder.
Also, the other co-accused are Charles Otai, a medic, and George Amanyire, a shamba boy.
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