At 10:19 a.m., presiding judge Muwata enters the courtroom. The court clerk asks for the Henry Katanga murder file as the four suspects head to the dock.

Samali Wakooli, assistant to the DPP: Monsignor, for the prosecution, Wakooli Samali, Jonathan Muwaganya and Anna Kiiza. Looking briefly, My Lord, we have Master Mwesigwa Rukutana and Ivy Muhumuza. Representing the accused, we have Mr. Peter Kabatsi, Mr. Elison Karuhanga, Jet Tumwebaze and Miss Hanat Nabagala. All four accused are present in court, with A1, Molly Katanga, appearing via Zoom. Additionally, all three evaluators are present in court. Monsignor, the matter must be decided and we are ready to receive it.

Judge: I have noted the objections raised by counsel for the accused as to the admissibility of the testimony of PW10 (Prosecution Witness 10, Mr Kanene) as they allege that it does not respect the areas of law which they cited. and that there have not been enough revelations about this matter which has persisted during this trial.

The admissibility of PW10’s evidence is reserved, together, and will be considered in the final analysis of the role of the evidence in this case.

His (Mr. Kanene’s) testimony will be recorded, pending the final decision of the court. As for disclosure, what was raised by defense counsel should not be overemphasized, as it is the cardinal principle of the law that every accused person should be afforded a fair trial and as far as the specific subject of the disclosure, this must be strictly observed. see the case of ….cited in this case and article 28 of the Constitution also cited.

I also find a case of….instructive. The English Court of Appeal said this: I will read what I wrote there because it settles our problem here. The right of the prosecution…at common law is to disclose to the defense all relevant material, that is, evidence which tends either to weaken the prosecution’s case or to strengthen the defence. It is required that the police disclose to the prosecution all witness statements and that the prosecution provide copies of those statements to the defense to enable the defense to inspect the statements and make copies, unless there are good reasons not to do so.

Furthermore, the prosecution had an obligation, which continued during the pre-trial period and throughout the trial, to disclose to the defense all relevant scientific material, whether to strengthen or weaken the case of the prosecution or to assist the defense or if the defense has made a specific choice. request for disclosure. Under this obligation, they were required to have files containing all relevant material and analyzes carried out by expert witnesses. Likewise, in this case, the prosecution has a duty to disclose relevant scientific documents, even if it believes otherwise. I conclude that the raw data and video evidence must be disclosed to the defence. So I order. I therefore order that what is said be done.

Muwaganya: His estimate (witness #10) is that it takes him about six hours to extract the raw data from the gadgets so that we might be able to provide the raw data by the close of business today (yesterday) so that we are in the right position. position to proceed tomorrow (today). Upon request my lord, we have been informed that the storage required to download this data is approximately two telebytes, for each of them, so in total we need the defense to provide him with the gadget capable of accommodating four telebytes on which this data can be stored and delivered to them. So if we can have that, Monsignor, during the course of the day, then by 4 p.m. we can be in position.

Judge: Are you sure you can disclose it by the end of the day, assuming that’s not the case?

Kabatsi: My lord, first of all, the court order includes phones, DVD and all gadgets. Raw data will be extracted from the gadgets. It’s now 11am and if they need six hours it will be towards the end of business hours today (yesterday). We will also need a day to review the same.

Judge: Let’s come back Thursday.

Muwaganya: My lord, for us, we are here to comply with all the orders of the court, but this must be clear my lord because we are also tired of going in circles. If I understood you correctly, now the requirement is that we present them with exhibits before even presenting them in court.

Judge: My decision is very clear, he says, from the raw data. So should we adjourn to Tuesday next week or Thursday this week?

Kabatsi: Thursday my lord.

Jet Tumwebaze: Let the witness come with his university degrees, because he claims to be an expert.

The hearing adjourned until tomorrow (Thursday, November 14).

Background
The prosecution accuses Molly Katanga of killing her husband, an act allegedly committed with malice. Ms. Katanga is charged alongside four other suspects, including her daughters, Patricia Kakwanza and Martha Nkwanzi.

According to the state, the incident took place on November 2, 2023 in Mbuya, Chwa 2, Nakawa Division, when Molly allegedly killed her husband during a fight in their bedroom. His body was later discovered by police on a small mattress. The State also claims Nkwanzi and Kakwanza tampered with or destroyed potential evidence at the scene in order to prevent its use in a legal proceeding.