Katanga Trial: Judge keeps prosecutor Wakooli in

NATIONAL | The lead prosecutor in businessman Henry Katanga murder trial will keep her place on the counsel table after court trashed the defence team's request for a recusal.

Widow Molly Katanga is charged with the murder in the death of her husband that occurred on November 2, 2023.

Last week, the defence team threw the spanners into the charge sheets by asking Justice Isaac Muwata of the Criminal Division of the Hight Court to recuse Ms Samali Wakooli from prosecuting the case.

The defence team argued that Ms Wakooli, who is also the deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, had signed the indictment order and also indicated reliance on DNA evidence in January when the result came out in April.

The defence team had said the conflicting dates was proof of a prosecutorial bias. They also said having signed the indictment, they needed her as a defence witness.

Judge Muwata approached the resumption of the trial today with a potentially damaging recusal decision where taking Ms Wakooli out of the case would have confirmed prosecutorial bias and left the charges against Ms Katanga on its deathbed even before the first witness had been summoned to the dock.

But the trial judge told the court that the indictment report does not have details of the evidence in the matter but also the DPP is at liberty to assign any of the officers responsibilities in which line Ms Wakooli could have been assigned to sign the indictment of the accused persons.

The defence team led by Jet Tumwebaze did not challenge the decision.

Having already scored their first positive ruling in trial when Judge Muwata allowed Ms Katanga to attend the trial remotely from Luzira Prison via video link, conceding appears to have come naturally.

Prosecution is now set to start cross-examining two of its witnesses.