The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Molly Katanga, accused of murdering her husband, businessman Henry Katanga, has sought temporary release from prison due to her health condition. After being denied bail on April 9th, 2024, by High Court Criminal Division Judge Isaac Muwata for failing to prove exceptional circumstances, Molly has made a second bail application.
This time, she presented a medical letter from prison indicating that her illnesses could not be treated while in custody. The medical report from the Uganda Prisons Service revealed that Molly suffers from hypertension with multiple breast masses, paranasal sinusitis, vertigo, and post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the evidence on the court record, the day Molly was denied bail, she wrote to the Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Service and requested a report regarding her status and whether Uganda prison would be able to manage her condition in jail.
As a result, on April 15th, 2024, the Uganda Prisons Services carried out another medical Examination. The prison’s health services concluded that they could not adequately assess and monitor her condition. Additionally, the report noted that Molly’s fibrotic breast masses had multiplied since her previous examination.
The doctors also note that “She has not received trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and no follow-up services by an ENT surgeon to address her paranasal sinusitis and vertigo as recommended on the treatment plan from Mulago National Hospital in their report dated February 8th, 2024.” “The Prison concluded that the assessment and monitoring of the progress of the multiple breast masses were beyond the capacity of the prison’s health services”, reads the court documents.
The documents further indicate that, as of the date of her examination on April 12th, 2024, Molly’s fibrotic masses had multiplied. “The applicant was found to have multiple fibrotic masses in her right upper quadrant of the left breast vis-a-vis the one mass that was discovered in her medical examination on February 8th, 2024,” reads the documents.
Through her lawyers of Kampala Associated Advocates, Molly argues that having proved the exceptional circumstance of grave illness and the court having previously found her four sureties as being substantial and having proved that she has a fixed place of abode on Chwa 11 Road in Mbuya- Nakawa division,” she deserves to be released on bail.
The DPP has not yet responded to Katanga’s bail application but presiding judge Isaac Muwata maintained that he will give his ruling on May 21st, 2024 with or without the Prosecution’s response. He has therefore given the Prosecution which was represented by State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka until May 13th, 2024 to file a response to the bail application.
Molly Katanga is jointly charged with her two daughters namely Martha Nkwanzi and Kakwanza Patricia who are accused of tampering with valuable evidence which would have been used in court to prove their father’s murder. The two daughters together with the family’s Shamba boy George Amanyire and a nursing officer Charles Otai were each released on two million shillings’ cash bail more than two months ago by the same Judge Molly remains on remand at Luzira Women’s Prison.
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