The High Court has granted cash bail of shs 2 million each to four individuals accused of tampering with evidence in the murder case of the late city businessman Henry Katanga.
The two sisters are charged with destroying or removing valuable evidence related to their father’s murder. The Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by Chief State Attorney Jonathan Muwanganya, has requested Justice Isaac Muwata to deny bail and proceed with the trial, as the state is ready with its witnesses.
The suspects were released on a cash bail of Shs2 million each while each of the sureties was bonded at Shs20 millions not cash.
Nkwanzi and Kakwanza were arrested with their mother, Molly Katanga, after the murder of their father on November 2, 2023, at their family home in Mbuya-Nakawa division. All three, along with the family’s shamba boy, George Amanyire, and Charles Otai, a medical practitioner, remain incarcerated at Luzira prison.
In his ruling, Justice Isaac Muwata said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had briefed court that the suspects were already committed to High Court for trial and therefore, there was no way they would interfere with investigations and witnesses.
“The Court hereby accepts the sureties presented by the accused persons, although the Prosecution had challenged their substantiality by their demeanor in Court. The UPDF surety is substantial; he is not obliged to seek permission from his seniors to come and stand surety. The sureties appeared to have authority over the applicants based on the questions asked from them by the Prosecution such as the names for mothers of the accused,” the judged said.
The state alleges that on November 2, 2023, Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kakwanza, knowing that things at the scene of the crime may be required in evidence in a judicial proceeding, removed or destroyed them or rendered them illegible or undecipherable or incapable of identification. The prosecution claims that the duo had the intention to prevent them from being used in evidence.
