Katanga complained of phone hacking before his murder 

Before his murder last year, businessman Henry Katanga expressed concerns about unknown individuals hacking into his phone, a state witness told the High court.

Presided over by criminal division judge Isaac Muwata, the court heard testimony from the fifth state witness, Pierre Kajura, an IT technician working at the Uganda Cooperatives Alliance building in Kampala. Kajura testified that he had known Katanga since 2017 and often assisted him with technical issues, including fixing his printer and laptop.

Kajura also revealed that Katanga was a good client of their banking agency services. Katanga allegedly confided in Kajura that an unknown person was hacking his phone, and Kajura advised him to use strong passwords. Together, they changed Katanga’s security authentication email and passwords.

However, according to Kajura, a day before his murder on November 1, 2023, Katanga expressed frustration with the inconvenience of the new passwords and wanted them removed. Kajura reportedly asked Katanga if he had any children at home, to which he replied, “we are all grown-ups at home.”

Kajura then removed the passwords from Katanga’s phone. The next day, on November 2, 2023, Katanga was shot dead. Kajura described Katanga as a jolly, carefree, good man, with whom he had developed a deeper bond, even referring to him as “uncle.”

Kajura told justice Muwata that he did not personally know any of the accused standing trial. All the accused stood in the dock except for the main suspect, Katanga’s widow, Molly Katanga, who appeared via Zoom from Luzira Women’s Prison.

Molly is co-accused alongside her daughters, Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kankwanzi, shamba boy George Amanyire, and Charles Otai, the family nursing officer. They face charges related to tampering with and destroying evidence that could have been used to find Katanga’s killers. They are also accused of aiding and abetting the crime (being an accessory after the fact of murder).

The defense team, comprised of Elison Karuhanga, Macdusman Kabega, Bruce Musinguzi, John Jet Tumwebaze, and Peter Kabatsi, did not cross-examine Kajura. Former Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, along with lawyers Edgar Ayebazibwe and Brian Rubaihayo, represented the interests of the deceased during the trial.

Chief state attorneys Jonathan Muwaganya and Annah Kiiza represented the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Muwaganya asked the court to grant the prosecution more time to bring additional witnesses. The trial will resume on Monday, July 15, for further hearing of the prosecution’s case.