The trial of suspects in the murder case of Kampala businessman Henry Katanga resumed yesterday, with the lead investigator suggesting a third party may have been present at the scene. The crime scene was Katanga’s master bedroom, where he was found dead on November 2, 2023. ‘My lord, the smears of blood on the wall, the ladder which was in the room. Like, I could not believe that someone could kill themselves and then again touch the wall with their hands. I could also not believe that a retired colonel could fire and have another live ammunition come out during suicide,’ Detective Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bibiana Akongo told Justice Rosette Comfort Kania.
‘You could see a sign of someone trying to mop after that observation, and the room seemed to have had a third party,’ she added.
Her remarks came after Assistant DPP Samali Wakooli asked what made her suspect more than one person was present. She, however, did not identify the alleged third party.
DSP Akongo, the 23rd prosecution witness, testified that while on duty in Kinawataka, she received a call from the Bugolobi OC about a suspected suicide by shooting.
‘We reached the scene of the crime and found the door closed. Otai (Charles, one of the suspects) was standing at the door. The legs were tied together using a gauze. On that same bed, at the edge, there was a pistol, a projectile, and one cartridge,’ she said. When asked what had happened, Otai allegedly told her Katanga had shot himself. He further said the deceased was a retired UPDF colonel and that Katanga’s wife, Molly Katanga, had collapsed on hearing the news and was taken to hospital.
The investigator said Otai later gave police three different versions of events. She added that a depression in the ceiling and a deformed projectile were discovered. ‘The one that hit the ceiling got deformed, but the one that shot the person (Katanga) was never recovered. When you shoot someone, he or she is not a hard rock to make a projectile deform,’ she explained. Her conclusion was that Katanga’s death was homicide, not suicide.