The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
There’s no sign of evidence tampering, prosecution witness tells court.
SPECIAL REPORT | ANTHONY NATIF | As recorded in court, in the case Uganda Vs Molly Katanga and adapted from @TonyNatif on X.
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The cross-examination of the 20th prosecution witness, Emmanuel Olugu (earlier reports had mistakenly referred to him as Olubu*) is going as dramatically and as bare-knuckled as anticipated. No prisoners taken.
In MacDusman Kabega, the Uganda Police Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO)—who worked at the seat of the alleged crime at the Katanga residence at Chwa II Road, Mbuya—is facing a wily, brilliant, experienced criminal justice lawyer skilled in the arts of cross-examination in high-stakes criminal trials.
The gulf in skill and preparation shows.
At times, the cross-examination looked like a pugilistic contest between Muhammad Ali at his prime and Moses Golola at his blustering worst.
With a devastating three-question punch combo, Mr MacDusman Kabega got the SOCO to tell the High Court, presided over by Lady Justice Rosette Comfort Kania, that he saw no proof of evidence tampering at the scene of the crime, which he was in charge of.
He said investigators collected all the evidence they needed to do any of the tests they needed for this case.
This left the court wondering as to what evidence the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) relied on to charge Mrs. Molly Katanga’s four co-accused with tampering with evidence.
Earlier reports that the state probably charged Mrs. Katanga’s two children in an attempt to wring a confession out of her seem less fanciful.
In line with this claim, earlier in this case, the DPP, together with former Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana (on watching brief), was accused by the defense’s Jet John Tumwebaze of orchestrating a nighttime transfer of one of the co-accused, George Amanyire from Luzira to Kigo prison to try and get him to accuse his boss of murder. Apparently, he declined. (See frame 1 of the tweet)
But I digress.
Kabega asked Olugu to confirm that in his report, there was no mention or even suggestion that any evidential material was destroyed or tampered with.
He said his report had no such suggestion.
He then asked him to also confirm that in his report, there was nothing to show that any required examination of any of the exhibits that he recovered failed on account of insufficient samples or because the exhibits submitted were ineligible.
Olugu answered in the affirmative.
Then came the third strike: “Afande, I want you to confirm that all the exhibits recovered and submitted for forensic analysis were successfully examined and the respective reports were duly issued.”
He answered in the affirmative.
UgandaVsMollyKatanga
There’s no Sign of Evidence Tampering-Prosecution Witness Tells Court
The cross examination of the 20th prosecution witness, Emmanuel Olugu (earlier reports had mistakenly referred to him as Olubu*) is going as dramatically and as bare knuckles as… https://t.co/9xJbzNUtnS pic.twitter.com/nedfDcK4N4
— Anthony Natif (@TonyNatif) July 4, 2025
By the end of this section of the cross-examination, the SOCO could easily have been described as punch-drunk.
The floodgates had been truly blown open.
The SOCO said he found the killer gun, a black Zastava Arms Pistol UG1622200061CZ99 Compact, on a white bedsheet on the bed.
Two days earlier, Kabega had asked the witness to display the bedsheet during evidence in chief (frame 2 of the tweet).
The witness said the spot the gun was found had no bloodstains; he also didn’t mark it before sending the bedsheet for DNA analysis.
Kabega asked him whether it was a reasonable expectation that because the couple used that sheet, their DNA could be on the gun.
He then asked him whether he had lifted fingerprints from the trigger of the gun. He said he hadn’t.
Kabega then asked if he’d lifted fingerprints from the water glass and jar by the couple’s bedside. He said he had.
He was asked how possible it would be that an officer investigating a murder by a gun could lift fingerprints from a water glass and not the gun.
Kabega then called for the gun, which was brought (frame 3 of the tweet).
It was at this point that the prosecutor stood up and asked the judge to not take the proceedings further than 4pm because their witness hadn’t eaten.
The Judge soon after brought the session to a halt and adjourned to July 14th 2025, saying she had many other pending cases with people on the verge of rioting.
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