Courtroom drama: A murder trial shifts, an appeal succeeds

Uganda’s courts delivered a week of sharp turns, emotional testimony and consequential rulings, with proceedings stretching from a murder trial that has gripped the country to a criminal appeal and a closely watched family dispute involving one of the country’s most recognisable musicians.

At the High Court, attention remained fixed on the murder trial of Molly Katanga and four others, where fresh testimony from a senior forensic pathologist challenged the prosecution’s account of how businessman Henry Katanga died.

By the time Dr Silvester Onzivua stepped before Justice Rosette Kania, the courtroom had already heard the state’s version of events. But the veteran forensic expert brought a different interpretation, and with it, a noticeably different atmosphere inside the court.

Methodically and without theatrics, Dr Onzivua questioned the state’s forensic findings point by point. He disputed the prosecution pathologists’ reading of the bullet trajectory, the nature of the wounds and the way investigators handled the crime scene.

His conclusion was stark. The prosecution’s argument that Molly Katanga shot her husband was, he told court, “extremely slim and highly unlikely.”

He said the state’s version could only make sense if Henry Katanga had remained completely motionless while a gun was brought close to his head.

“The state’s scenario would be plausible if Henry Katanga had remained seated like a statue while a firearm was brought within centimetres of his head,” he told court.

Dr Onzivua instead said the evidence more credibly pointed toward suicide. That position was reinforced, he testified, by blood spatter analysis. Molly Katanga’s blood, he said, had spread widely across the room, while Henry Katanga’s remained confined to the bed.

Investigators also documented a bullet hole in the ceiling above the bed, another detail the defence relied on as proceedings continued. The courtroom also heard more about Henry Katanga’s mental state in the days before his death.

Witnesses described a man increasingly overwhelmed by paranoia. The court heard he had locked his phone with multiple passwords and sought treatment at a clinic for stress-related medication.

For a case that has drawn national scrutiny for months, last week’s testimony introduced a fresh layer of uncertainty and sharpened the legal contest over what exactly happened in the final moments before Katanga died.

Elsewhere, the Court of Appeal handed Edward Kigere a reduced sentence in an aggravated defilement case, cutting his prison term from 35 years to 12. The ruling, delivered last Wednesday by Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, John Mike Musisi and Esta Nambayo, followed Kigere’s appeal against a sentence imposed by the High Court in January 2018.

Kigere had been convicted of aggravated defilement under the Penal Code Act after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl on September 23, 2014, in Jokolera Village, Nangabo Sub-county in Wakiso district.

Trial judge Oyuko Anthony Ojok had sentenced him to 35 years in prison. But the appellate court found the sentence excessive after reviewing comparable cases and weighing factors it said had not been fully considered earlier.

The judges noted that Kigere was a first-time offender. They also found that the penetration had been digital and superficial, and that although the child sustained injuries consistent with unlawful assault, the injuries were not extensive.

The court further observed there was no evidence of repeated assault, extreme violence or disease transmission. After reviewing sentencing patterns in similar cases, the justices ruled that a 12-year custodial sentence was more appropriate.

Because Kigere had already spent three years, three months and 19 days in remand before conviction, the court ordered that he serve the remaining nine years, 9 months and 11 days, calculated from January 12, 2018.

The ruling offered a reminder of how appellate courts continue to shape sentencing standards, especially in cases where judges are asked to balance punishment, precedent and mitigation.

At the Family Division, a different kind of legal battle moved closer to resolution. Musician Jose Chameleone, born Joseph Mayanja, and his estranged wife Daniella Atim reached a separation agreement after months of court-directed mediation.

Under the agreement, Chameleone will pay roughly $2,000, equivalent to about Shs7.55 million, every month in child support. Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga oversaw the mediation and is expected to formally endorse the agreement before it takes legal effect.

The couple’s five children, Abba, Alpha, Amma, Alba and Xara Mayanja, will remain in Atim’s custody, while Chameleone retains visitation rights. A central issue, however, remains unresolved.

Property acquired during the marriage will be handled separately by the Family Division of the High Court at a later stage. Atim filed her petition in March last year. In court filings through her lawyers, she cited desertion and accused the singer of contributing to the breakdown of the marriage.

She described years of emotional distress and alleged Chameleone lacked compassion, empathy and affection, leaving her struggling with depression. The petition also accused him of adultery and cruelty.

And at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court, prosecutors pressed ahead with charges linked to the recent break-in at Bank of Uganda headquarters. Four additional suspects appeared before court and denied all charges.

The prosecution, led by Grace Amy, alleges the group broke into five offices at the central bank with the intent to steal. Among the items allegedly taken were six laptop computers, including Lenovo ThinkBook and HP models belonging to the institution.

Court admitted an amended charge sheet containing offences of office breaking, theft and receiving or retaining stolen property under various sections of the Penal Code Act. The amended indictment also retained earlier charges against eight security officers accused of neglecting their duties during the incident.

Taken together, the week’s proceedings offered a snapshot of the wide range of disputes moving through Uganda’s courts — from homicide and criminal appeals to family mediation and financial crime.

Some cases moved toward resolution. Others became more complicated. But inside courtrooms across Kampala, the pattern was familiar: testimony tested, arguments sharpened and decisions made — each one carrying consequences well beyond the courtroom walls.

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