Widow and children face trial over Katanga murder

However, Patricia Katanga Kakwanza, 32, the deceased’s step daughter, was yesterday charged at the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court in Kampala with destroying evidence, a criminal offence under the Penal Code Act punishable with seven-year imprisonment. 

Her sister and co-accused Martha Katanga Nkwanzi, a 29-year-old student, was reported to have given birth this week and was a no-show in court presided over by Chief Magistrate Elias Kakooza.

Like Ms Katanga, Ms Nkwanzi is now expected in court to take plea on December 4. 

Two other individuals; a nursing officer named Charles Otai and Mr George Amanyire, 30, the gardener of the Katangas, were charged with being accessory after the fact of murder.

Under Section 206 of the Penal Code Act, a person convicted of the felony of being an accessory after the fact to murder “is liable to imprisonment for seven years”.

The two men and Ms Kakwanza were remanded to Luzira prison and will return to court in a fortnight after court declined to hear their applications for bail, leaving a battery of relatives assembled inside and outside the court sobbing.

The trio was brought to court shortly after 3pm, with the plea proceedings lasting for about 30 minutes.
 Ms Kakwanza appeared in the dock like a worried person, contrasting the brave look on the faces of her co-accused, who showed up in court handcuffed.   

According to the charge sheet, Ms Katanga, now a widow, on November 2 at Mbuya Chwa 2 Road in Kampala’s Nakawa Division, “with malice aforethought unlawfully caused the death of Henry Katanga”. 

“A1 (Molly) and A3 (Martha) are absent. They are reportedly hospitalised, but three accused persons are here in court for pleading to the charges. We are ready to proceed,” Ms Doreen Elima, a state attorney from the DPP’s said in opening submissions to court. 

Upon pleading not guilty to the charges, lawyers of the accused; Mr Elison Karuhanga and Mr Bruce Musinguzi from Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA), unsuccessfully attempted to apply for their release on bail. 

Mr Karuhanga submitted that his clients had been in illegal police detention for more than two weeks, contrary to the constitutional time threshold for police not to keep suspects for more than 48 hours, and needed to be released on bail.

But the presiding Chief Magistrate declined to hear the bail application, and ordered the accused persons to be   remanded till December 4. 

According to the charge sheet presented to court, under count one, Molly is charged with the murder of her husband three weeks ago. 

Katanga was reportedly found dead in his bedroom and his wife, Molly, was immediately whisked away and admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a medical facility in Kampala, where she remains to-date. 

The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution in a press release announcing the sanctioning of charges against five accused persons, yesterday indicated that Ms Nkwanzi, who was delivered of a baby, remained in hospital.   

She, like her sister Kakwanza, stands accused of destroying evidence in moment’s that followed their father, Katanga’s, killing. 

Police reportedly found the body of the deceased, who was a wealthy man in life, on a small mattress in the living room of his house in Mbuya. 

Under count two of destroying evidence, it is the prosecution’s case that Patricia and Martha on the same day, knowing that things at the scene of crime may be required in evidence in a judicial proceedings, removed or destroyed them or rendered them illegible or undecipherable or incapable of identification.

The chief government prosecutor contends that the duo had the intention to prevent them from being used in evidence. 

Regarding the third and last charge of being accessory after the fact of murder, the DPP contends that nursing officer Otai, a resident of Kireka B Cell in Wakiso District, and Mr Amanyire, the shamba man of the Katangas, received or assisted other people who were to their knowledge liable of an offence, in order to enable them escape punishment.

The court also issued criminal summons for the widow and Martha to appear on December 4 and plead to the charges.

The issuance of the criminal summons was prompted by State Attorney, Ms Doreen Elima. 
All the five suspects were represented by lawyers Karuhanga and Musigunzi. 

Mr Karuhanga challenged the issuance of the criminal summons against his clients on grounds that Molly Katanga was still hospitalised while Martha was nursing her newborn. His objection was, however, overruled. 

According to the Penal Code Act, once found guilty of the offense of destroying evidence, the convict is liable to up to seven years imprisonment. 

Likewise, once found guilty of being an accessory after the fact, one is liable to imprisonment up to three years. 
The offense of murder carries up to the maximum punishment of death by hanging once found liable. 
However, the mandatory death sentence has since been done away with, leaving courts to sentence convicts at discretion. 

Prosecution on November 21 told court that investigations into the murder of Katanga were still open, suggesting more charges could be brought up or more suspects arrested.

How DPP announced the indictments

DPP sanctions criminal charges against Katanga murder suspects

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo has sanctioned the charge of murder against Molly Katanga in respect of the death of Katanga Henry, her husband. 

In addition, the DPP has sanctioned the charge of destroying evidence against Kakwanza Patricia and Nkwanzi Martha Katanga for tampering with the evidence at the crime scene. 

Furthermore, the DPP has sanctioned the charge of being accessory after the fact of murder against Amanyire George and Otai Charles for assisting the suspects escape punishment. 

Since the murder of Katanga Henry, prosecution-guided invetsigations by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and [Police’s] Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) have been ongoing, culminating in[to] the arrest of the suspects. 

The suspects [were] produced in Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court [yesterday] for the charges to be communicated to them, save for Katanga Molly and Nkwazi Martha Katanga who are hospitalised. 

Source: Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) press statement.