High Court Denies Bail to Molly Katanga for Second Time

The High Court Criminal Division, presided over by the Hon. Justice Isaac Muwata, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, denied bail to Molly Katanga for the second time in a row.

Katanga’s legal team argued that her healthy condition could not be adequately managed by prison authorities.

However, the court highlighted that while accused individuals have the right to make successive bail applications, subsequent applications to the same court must present fresh grounds or new facts not included in the initial application, or show a significant change in circumstances that led to the denial of the first application.

Without such changes, any subsequent bail application would be seen as a request for a review of the previous decision.

In the initial bail application, the court thoroughly reviewed medical reports and concluded that Katanga’s condition could be managed by prison authorities.

The court noted that the medical observations in the latest report were largely similar to those in the previous reports, with the exception of a claim that her condition involving multiple breast masses was beyond the capacity of prison health services.

The court ruled that this claim did not constitute a new ground of grave illness and had already been considered in the previous application.

The court noted that reassessing it would amount to reviewing the earlier unsuccessful application, although the court retains discretion to grant or deny bail in such situations.

Molly Katanga is charged with the offence of murder. It is alleged that on 2nd November 2023 at Mbuya Chwa 2 Road, Nakawa Division, Kampala Capital City, Molly Katanga, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of her husband, Katanga Henry.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was represented by Ms. Samali Wakhooli, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms. Ann Kizza, Chief State Attorney, and Jonathan Muwaganya, Chief State Attorney.