🔴 Anthony Natif notes from Court: Prosecution’s case in Uganda Vs Molly Katanga and Others

SPECIAL REPORT | ANTHONY NATIF | As recorded in the case Uganda Vs Molly Katanga and adapted from @TonyNatif on X. That is the Third of a chain on the case sooner than February 19th, when Justice Kania is expected to rule on whether the prosecution has established a prima facie case.

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Continuation: Prosecution’s Case Towards Mrs Katanga

iii) Gunshot Residue (GSR) Evidence

Counting on the evidence of PW12, Dr Jaffer Kisitu, a forensic chemist in the Department of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Explosives Prognosis in the Directorate of Forensic Products and companies in Uganda Police, the prosecution makes the case that GSR used to be stumbled on on Mrs Katanga’s palms and that this no longer simplest locations her at the scene of the crime but additionally proves that she shot the firearm.

GSR diagnosis is about browsing for and analysing the components fashioned post-firearm discharge.

Dr Kisitu used to be requested to analyse the following:

-Swabs D3 & D4, picked from the entry and exit wounds of the deceased throughout postmortem
-D5; swab picked from the muzzle of the gun
-M1; swab from the left hand of Molly Katanga
-M2 & M3; swabs from the unbiased hand of Mrs Katanga.

Demonstrate: Swabs M1, 2 & 3 were curiously taken from A1 by PW18, Aisha Birungi, whereas A1 used to be in her health heart room, completely bandaged to the tip of her fingers.

-10-1: a cutting from a Kitenge costume existing in the bedroom opposite the grasp suite. That is the bedroom where A1 used to be stumbled on drenched in a pool of her bear blood.

-KP; A2’s costume. (She’s the elder Katanga daughter; used to be regarded as one of many first folks to achieve at the scene and can also be charged)
-A4’s shirts as neatly as CS1 and CS2; some lab test objects.

The prosecution says that in line with PW12, M1, M3, 10-1 and KP contained substance “NG”, a propellant in gunpowder, and DPA a stabiliser in gunpowder.

On the strength of that discovering, shared in the GSR yarn, the prosecution then makes a gallant jump and tells the dispute that “discovering conclusive evidence of compounds on objects M1 and M3, which had been swabs from A1’s palms, which compounds can simplest be fashioned after discharge of a firearm, provides conclusive evidence that she’s the one who fired the firearm, causing the powder to drop on her hands.”

They extra recount that “this evidence squarely placed her at the scene of crime as a participant” and that “it’s no coincidence that the compounds existing in M1 and M3 are the identical as those existing in the muzzle of the pistol (10-1) as neatly as the cuttings from A2’s costume”.

They then advise Lady Justice Kania that “the presence of those GSR components on the palms of A1 clearly aspects to her as the one who shot or discharged the firearm in remark.”

“That is evident evidence to uncover her participation in the crime,” they added.

It’d wait on to be conscious that throughout the execrable-examination of this specific glimpse, PW12, by defence attorney Elison Karuhanga, a relate question used to be put to him as as to whether the presence of GSR on an particular particular person is incontrovertible proof that said particular particular person fired the firearm.

Dr Jaffer Kisitu, with out hesitation, said NO. It simplest proves that said particular particular person used to be about 2 meters from a discharged firearm.

This gape used to be echoed by the ballistics professional, Derrick Nasawali, the pinnacle of ballistics in the Ugandan police.

The prosecution, in their submissions, didn’t recount why their conclusion on the import of GSR in identifying who discharged a firearm veered from their very bear professional glimpse testimony.

iv) Evidence of a Lower Finger

Mrs Katanga had a finger amputated. In accordance to the protection, she used to be beaten so noteworthy by her leisurely husband that her finger used to be severed, became gangrenous and needed to be amputated.

The prosecution begged to fluctuate.

They said, “My Lord, PW11, Derrick Nasawali, explained throughout execrable-examination that when one pulls the distance off, there’s a backward force in response. That in the event you don’t grip the gun firmly, it’s miles going to also be abominable. Right via re-explanation, PW11 extra explained that the specific weapon has steel parts, some of which could presumably be spirited. That once it’s in action, the parts circulate at quite a excessive tempo. So, if one hasn’t dealt with the gun in the unbiased intention, the short-gripping parts will injure her fingers…. ‘The evidence of a damaged left finger on A1 provides a solid inference that the injure used to be triggered to her by the pistol throughout the map of firing.

Having painstakingly coated the principle parts of the prosecution’s case, especially because it relates to scientific evidence, we are left with these two.

v) Conduct of the Accused
vi) Denying Police Entry

They’re mainly all about “he said, she said” and as such, it would possibly maybe maybe presumably per chance no longer be basically the most attention-grabbing use of time to circulate over them line by line.

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