Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Juliet Kigongo
Published on 2024-01-30 15:15:00
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) office is being accused of intentionally frustrating the bail hearing for suspects in the murder case of Kampala businessman Henry Katanga. The accusations were made by defense lawyer John Jet Tumwebaze when the case came before Justice Isaac Muwata of the High Court for yet another bail hearing that did not take off. Tumwebaze claimed that the DPP’s office has frustrated the bail hearing seven times at the Magistrates Court level and at least three times at the High Court.
“We are shocked but not surprised, if this application is not allowed, it will be the tenth time the DPP is frustrating this bail application. This is clearly in bad faith, aimed at keeping the accused persons in jail,” Tumwebaze submitted on Monday.
Another defense lawyer, MacDusman Kabega, also submitted that the bail application served to the DPP on January 17 is the same bail application, hence no need to seek an adjournment by the DPP.
The inability of Samali Wakoli, the Assistant DPP, to respond to the bail applications of the accused persons and instead sought adjournment was noted during the court session. She reasoned that some of the contents of the bail application were faint, hence unreadable. Another officer from the DPP’s office, Jonathan Muwaganya, argued that it is only fair that the defense counsel serve them with clear bail documentation, which should be verified under Rule 15 of the bail guidelines.
The murder case involves the death of Henry Katanga following an alleged fight with his wife Molly Katanga in their bedroom at their matrimonial home in Mbuya, near Kampala. Molly, along with her two daughters, a medic, and a domestic worker, are facing charges related to the murder.
The bail hearing has been adjourned multiple times due to the DPP’s office seeking adjournments and citing issues with the quality and clarity of the bail documents. The next hearing is scheduled for February 12, as all the judges will be away the whole of next week as they participate in the annual judges’ conference.
