The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
SPECIAL REPORT | ANTHONY NATIF | As recorded in court, in the case Uganda Vs Molly Katanga and adapted from @TonyNatif on X.
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Defense Calls State Witness’ Evidence “a Disgraceful Pack of Lies”
Yesterday, October 20, the defense continued its cross-examination of the lead investigator in this case, DSP Bibiana Akong. It was done by MacDusman Kabega.
The session, which went on from around 9:45 am and ended just before 5 pm was as tense as they come.
Kabega was locked in a back and forth with this key witness, cross-referencing her answers against her own statements and other police officers’ statements. Coming back to her with what seemed like contradictory information and calling her a liar multiple times.
The session started off with Kabega challenging her claim that “intelligence” told her that Mrs Katanga was going to escape through a hospital window, onto the ladder outside her room (and off to Kenya).
This claim that’s been part of the blogosphere for months, she also repeated on the witness stand.
When asked if she had the said ladder as an exhibit in the court, she said no.
When he asked if the police took a single picture of said ladder, she said no.
When he asked if this claim ever made it to her statement or any other police officer’s statements, she said no.
Kabega then told her this statement was an afterthought (made up by her).
They then shifted to her claim that Charles Otai, the medical officer from Bugolobi Medical Center-who rushed to the Katanga residence when called to provide medical help – told her three versions of what transpired that morning.
Only two of those made it to her statement, and one didn’t.
Kabega wondered why she left this one out, yet the Scene of Crime Officer, a one Olugu Emmanuel (who earlier testified) had only this version and had told court it’s the version that Otai told them in a group with other police officers. Ms Akong was present at the time.
Bibiana denied ever hearing this version until during the scene reconstruction.
Kabega put it to her that Otai had told her that Mrs Katanga had been found unconscious and rushed to hospital with deep cuts on the head, broken bones in both hands, with one finger hanging to her body only by a piece of skin.
She denied it.
He then asked her: “Bibiana, did you come here to lie?”
She said no.
He then asked that she read her own statement. The claims were there, except slightly differently worded. She said Otai had used “a c-word” that she called “a medical term she’d forgotten”. (See video for context)
Kabega called this version “the true version” that Bibiana inexplicably left out of her statement.
Bibiana said she couldn’t say if it was true or not because she wasn’t there. She didn’t explain why she left it out or why her two versions were never backed up by any other police officer.
The cross examination then shifted to alleged missing bullets.
See, Akong had told court that two bullets, including the killer one had been missing.
The defense have vehemently pushed back on this.
You might recall that during Jet Tumwebaze’s cross examination of Akong, he went through a bullet count and accounted for 30 bullets, enough to fill 2 magazines and leave none.
Akong still insisted on her “2 bullets were missing” claim.
Kabega brought it back.
They’d found a box with 17 rounds, 10 bullets in the magazine, one in the chamber, one on the bed and a bent, used projectile that, Mr Kabega said was the one that killed Mr Katanga, went through the mosquito net and onto the wall, close to the ceiling.
The court earlier heard from the ballistics expert Mr Derrick Nassawali that the bullet was deformed from colliding with a wall.
Anyway, Akong still said no.
Kabega asked whether she’d written to the commissioner in charge of firearms (the ones in private hands) to ascertain whether the extra rounds didn’t belong to Mr Katanga instead of his wife, as she’d told the court.
She still didn’t volunteer evidence of her missing 2 bullets or that the extra bullets belonged to Mrs Katanga…. (As earlier indicated, we shall bring you a full report of PW23’s testimony after cross-examination and re-exam if any.)
UgandaVsMollyKatanga
Defense Calls State Witness’ Evidence “a Disgraceful Pack of Lies”
Yesterday, the defense continued its cross examination of the Lead Investigator in this case, DSP Bibiana Akong. It was done by Mr MacDusman Kabega.
The session which went on from around… https://t.co/WVmGEThmUb pic.twitter.com/HuYkcC1QPX
— Anthony Natif (@TonyNatif) October 21, 2025
