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Kampala, Uganda – The trial of Molly Katanga continued on Tuesday, July 9, with the second police witness, Superintendent Musede Samuel, who is attached to the Jinja Road Police Station and is currently in charge of community policing in Buglobbi.
ASP Musede testified that on November 2, 2023, at about 7:50 a.m., he received a call from his friend, Patricia Kakwanza, informing him that someone had shot himself at her house.
“I was in Mukono (where I live) and I told her I would be back later and she told me ‘I am waiting’. A man who I later learnt was the cook (Amanyire) took me into the house. I went to the lower living room and saw Patricia sitting upstairs. Inside the house, I found a gentleman who Patricia told him was Dr Charles Otay. I was taken to the room where the body of the deceased was found,” he said.
When asked what he saw at the scene, ASP Musede said, “I saw a pistol, a spent cartridge, a bullet on the bed and a lot of blood in the room. The body was placed on a new 3-inch thick mattress without any blood. The body had been cleaned and the legs were wrapped in gauze.”
The witness also testified that when he asked who the body was, Patricia told him it was her father. When asked where her mother (Molly) was, Patricia told him she was not present when the incident occurred.
He said that at this time, Amaniyah was busy mopping the floor and cleaning the blood stains in the room.
He said there were a lot of blood stains, especially on the mosquito net.
He reportedly told them to stop what they were doing and communicated with his immediate superior at Buglobbi Police Station, ASP Peter Ogwang, who told him that he was aware of the incident through Dr. Otai.
“I told them to stop what they were doing and communicated with my immediate supervisor, who told me that he had received information from Dr. Otay and was on his way to the scene,” said Superintendent Musaid.
ASP Musede also said he did not know the deceased but knew Patricia Kakwanza, Otai Charles and Amanyire through community policing.
“I know Patricia Kakwanza from Security Plus and I talk to their people every day. I also know Martha Nkwanzi and Otai Charles from Patricia,” he testified.
According to Mussard’s testimony Tuesday, police arrived nearly two hours after receiving the call for help.
The witness continued yesterday:
“I did not see Molly Katanga at the scene, but Patricia told me that the body was her father’s,” Superintendent Musaid said. “She told me that her mother was not present when it happened.”
Defense attorney MacDosman Kabega questioned Musaid’s testimony, saying that when he asked who the body was, Patricia never told him that her father had committed suicide. Musaid insisted that was not a lie.
Kabega also said that when the police asked Patricia about her whereabouts, her mother (Molly) was not at home at the time of the incident, but Patricia never told Musaid. The police officer also insisted that this was not a lie.
Prompted by defence lawyer Elison Karuhanga, Musaid admitted that he did go to the crime scene without being a trained and qualified crime scene investigator (SOCO) and did not record any preliminary information.
The defense attorney also pointed out that there were contradictions between Musaid’s court testimony and the police statement. But he insisted that both testimonies were credible, adding that there may be omissions in his two testimonies, but this was his version of events that he witnessed.
Earlier in the day, another eyewitness, police doctor Julius Muhwezi, took the stand and distanced himself from a police Form 24 tendered as evidence. He told the court that the form had been tampered with.
“I only have part B of the form. I did not sign the first half,” Dr Mwezi said, adding that the stamp date on the second half had been changed.
Defence lawyer Elison Karuhanga argued that Dr Mwezi did not examine the suspect and that the form was falsified evidence.
The case is being heard by the Criminal Division of the High Court, presided over by Justice Isaac Muwata.
Molly Katanga, the victim of the events that led to the death of her husband on November 2, 2023, was tried along with her daughters, Patricia Kankwanzi and Martha Nkwanzi, on charges of destroying evidence, while the Chamba boy in the house, George Amanyire, and caregiver Charles Otai were also charged with being accessories to the crime after the fact of the murder.
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