Martha Nkwanzi, the late billionaire Henry Katanga’s daughter, has been placed under arrest in Luzira Prison for allegedly destroying evidence related to her father’s two-month-old murder.
Nkwanzi appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon after turning herself in.
Chief Magistrate Erias Kakooza of Nakawa presided over the court; he had issued an arrest order for her on Monday.
The court has heard that on November 2, 2023, at Mubya Chwa II, Nakawa Division, Kampala Capital City, Nkwanzi and Patricia Kankwanzi removed or destroyed items from the crime scene or made them illegible, undecipherable, or impossible to identify to prevent them from being used as evidence in a legal proceeding.
Along with their mother Molly Katanga, who is reportedly hospitalised for injuries she allegedly incurred during the event, the two daughters are charged jointly.
Molly Katanga is still required by the court to appear on January 22nd to answer for her husband’s murder.
In addition to the three family members, George Amanyire, the family’s Shamba boy, and Charles Otai, a doctor, are also charged.
Both men are accused of helping the widow and her two daughters avoid punishment after the murder, even though they knew the three were guilty of the crime.
They are charged with accessory after the fact.
Nkwazi requested permission from the court to enter a plea to the charge through her legal representation.
However, that provoked a protracted dispute once the prosecution protested.
Nevertheless, the prosecution, represented by State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya and Anna Kiiza, opposed to Nkwanzi entering a plea during the drawn-out court hearings, causing the court to adjourn and reconvene later.
Muwaganya objected, citing the fact that Nkwanzi is included on the same charge sheet as the first suspect—murder, which is subject to a High Court trial.
According to Muwaganya, admitting a plea is a trial procedure whereby an accused person’s plea can only be accepted by a court with the authority to hear the case.
He requested that the accused individual only be informed of the charges against her by the court.
The prosecution applied two days ago for their client to be arrested so that she could appear in court to enter a plea.
Nkwanzi’s attorneys, MacDusman Kabega, Ellison Karuhanga, and Bruce Musinguzi, said that there is no way they can start saying she shouldn’t answer to the charges when she has even brought herself to court.
He claimed that since the offense the court read her does not carry a death or life sentence, it is a misdemeanour that, if proven guilty, carries a seven-year jail sentence.
Therefore, Kabega stated that the accused may be tried in a court chaired by Chief Magistrate Kakooza, under Section 161 (1) of the Magistrates Court Act-MCA, unless the sentence carries the possibility of death if it is for a jail sentence.
Kabega therefore demanded of the Court that Martha Nkwanzi enter a plea for the offense that she had been informed of the details.
Kabega contends that the Nakawa Magistrates Court’s authority is not in any way circumvented by her inclusion on a charge sheet in which the first suspect is accused of murder.
He went on to say that the prosecution has not given the court any legal requirements that would prevent an accused person from entering a plea in a situation in which the court has jurisdiction.
Kabega has argued, in support of his position, that the Prosecutors—the very persons who prepared the charges—did not file a complaint, and that the other accused on remand entered pleas before the same Chief Magistrate.
Prosecutor Muwaganya, however, remained steadfast in his position, claiming that the statute cited by Kabega does not address the issue of multiple accused individuals showing up on the same charge sheet with a mix of capital and non-capital offenses.
According to Muwaganya, the Magistrates Court Act does not specifically grant the Magistrates Court the authority to consider a plea in one count on a charge sheet involving a capital offense.
He continued by saying that despite the fact that this case has been entered into the Capital Offenses Register of Court and assigned a capital crime number, all of these things suggest that he lacks jurisdiction over the situation.
According to the prosecutor, the High Court has advised in several cases that in situations where certain charges are capital and others are not, the jurisdiction of the more serious offense supersedes that of the lesser offenses.
While pleas were taken for the other defendants, Muwaganya claims that this procedure is open to review at the High Court, with the main goal being to rectify the plea-taking process.
He clarified that as the case is still pending in the High Court, it would be sensible and right for them to wait for the High Court’s direction before deciding whether or not to ask the accused to enter a plea.
After a two-hour break, Kakooza issued his verdict, finding that the court is entitled to hear pleas.
He said that when other defendants entered pleas and the prosecution did not challenge them, they were arraigned before him.
Nkwanzi has pleaded not guilty and rejected the accusations made against her as a result.
Later, Kabega filed for bond, claiming that the law allowed for release on bond even in the absence of sureties and that she was a mother of three children, the youngest of whom was born just one month after Katanga’s death.
In making his decision, Kakooza stated that he must be consistent and that it is appropriate to wait for the outcome before considering Nkwanzi’s bail application, as he has already been notified that the DPP’s criminal revision application hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday of next week.
Now, Nkwanzi is being held at Luzira Prison on remand alongside Kakwanza, Amanyire, and Otai, while Molly Katanga, the widow of Henry Katanga, is still facing a criminal summons for her husband’s murder from last November, which requires her to appear in court on January 22, 2024.
On that day, it is anticipated that each of the accused will appear in court again.
In this instance, there are strong ties between the complainants and the accused individuals in the government.
According to credible sources, the families met with a senior State official yesterday night, who assured them that justice would be done in this instance.