Presiding Kampala High Court Judge, Ms Rosette Comfort Kania, summoned an expert to explain blood patterns found at the crime scene of the suspected murder of Kampala businessman Henry Katanga.
The summoning was contained in her brief ruling, after a deadlock arose between the host of defence lawyers, representing five people charged in connection with the alleged murder of Katanga, and the prosecution team, led by Mr Jonathan Muwaganya and Ms Samali Wakooli.
The dispute centred on whether the lead investigator, Detective Superintendent of Police Akongo Bibiana, was the appropriate witness to tender a report on the blood patterns found in Katanga’s master bedroom on the fateful day of November 2, 2023.
‘.The person who wrote it says it examines shapes, size, and in my view, this witness (lead investigator) is not competent to enter into that field of discussion,’ Justice Kania ruled. She added: ‘Therefore, I rely on Section 40 of the Trial of the Indictment Act to call that person who authored it. She [lead prosecutor] will not be able to explain the science of the blood patterns. Let the person who authored come,’ the judge said. However, the judge didn’t name the expert who is expected to show up and explain the different blood patterns found at the crime scene. Blood patterns at a crime scene are a form of forensic evidence that experts analyse to reconstruct events.
They are classified by how they are created and can provide information about the sequence of events, the type of weapon used, the positions of people involved, and the number of blows struck. Examples include impact patterns (from an object striking a blood source), cast-off patterns (blood flung from a moving object), and drip patterns (blood dripping from one source onto another). According to previous prosecution testimonies, following the incident, blood gushed on the ceiling, walls, and floor in Katanga’s master bedroom, which spilled due to a violent attack reportedly associated with domestic violence. Molly Katanga, the wife of the deceased businessman, has been charged in connection with her husband’s alleged murder, which charges she denies.
On August 18, Dr Moses Byaruhanga, the Director of the Police’s Health Services, testified how he examined Molly Katanga and found her with several stitched defence wounds, mainly on her head. ‘She introduced herself as Molly Katanga, a businesswoman based at Forest Mall, Lugogo. I asked her what happened, and she reported that she was involved in a domestic quarrel with her husband the early morning of November 2023,’ Dr Byaruhanga said in his testimony on August 18. He continued: ‘She [Molly Katanga]was unable to recall what happened, and that is where she stopped with her story. She was unable to tell what had happened and followed after the fight.
That is all she could tell me about what happened that day.’ Background On November 2, 2023, Katanga was found dead at his residence in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb, following what is believed to be a domestic brawl with his wife, Molly Katanga. Molly was arrested and charged with murder. She is jointly charged with her two daughters, Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kakwanza, who separately face lesser charges of destroying evidence and being an accessory after the fact of murder. Other suspects are Otai, a medic who was among the first people to arrive at the home of the late Katanga on the fateful day, and George Amanyire, who was a shamba boy at the Katangas’ home when the incident happened.
Brief ruling.
Therefore, I rely on Section 40 of the Trial of the Indictment Act to call that person who authored it. She [lead prosecutor] will not be able to explain the science of the blood patterns. Let the person who authored come- Justice Rosette Comfort Kania.