Businesswoman Molly Katanga has dismissed claims by prosecutors that she emptied a company euro account holding nearly Shs40 billion after the death of her husband, businessman Henry Katanga.
Speaking before the High Court Criminal Division during her ongoing murder trial on Tuesday, Katanga rejected allegations that she withdrew all the money from a joint company account linked to their businesses.
She is accused of fatally shooting her husband at their residence on Chwa II Road in Nakawa Division, Kampala, on November 2, 2023.
During earlier testimony, Katanga told trial judge Rosette Kania Comfort that her husband had been battling emotional distress allegedly triggered by financial pressures.
She claimed that Henry Katanga became depressed after businessman Apollo Nyegamehe, popularly known as Aponye, reportedly failed to clear a Shs1.5 billion debt before his death in a road crash.
But Chief State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya challenged the claim, arguing that the deceased remained financially stable despite the unpaid debt.
According to the prosecution, Henry Katanga had significant savings and investments at the time of his death, including more than 8.8 million euros — estimated at about Shs40 billion — in a Stanbic Bank euro account connected to one of the couple’s companies.
Muwaganya questioned Katanga about whether she had withdrawn all the funds from the account. Although her lawyers, Macdusman Kabega, Elison Karuhanga, and John Jet Tumwebaze, objected to the line of questioning, Justice Kania allowed her to answer.
Katanga responded that she could not confirm the allegation from the documents presented before court.
However, she acknowledged that she continued managing and operating the company accounts even after her husband’s death, including while she was on remand at Luzira Prison.
“I have been paying suppliers and making withdrawals,” she told the court.
When asked how she communicated instructions to the bank while in prison custody, Katanga said she had an arrangement with the bank but declined to reveal details publicly.
Much of the court session focused on financial records tied to the couple’s companies, Merge Uganda Limited and Maks Logistics Uganda Limited.
Prosecutors presented several documents from Stanbic Bank, including company resolutions, account opening records, ownership declarations, specimen signatures, and bank statements.
Katanga confirmed that she and the deceased jointly owned the companies and served as directors and signatories to accounts operated in euros, US dollars, and Uganda shillings. She also acknowledged that the businesses were equally shared between them.
However, she repeatedly told court she could not remember some account details, including specific numbers and branch locations.
At one point, prosecutors presented euro account statements linked to Merge Uganda Limited. Katanga initially said she could not fully identify the account despite recognising the company name. After further questioning, she later admitted the accounts belonged to the company.
The prosecution also highlighted other assets allegedly owned by Henry Katanga, including savings in insurance schemes, SACCO accounts, personal bank accounts, securities, and bond investments worth billions of shillings.
Katanga confirmed the existence of some savings, among them Shs1.5 billion and Shs2.6 billion in ICEA accounts, Shs1 billion in UCCFS Community SACCO, and around Shs400 million in a personal bank account.
Muwaganya argued that the deceased’s financial standing weakened claims that he had become depressed because of a Shs1.5 billion debt.
“That is why we believe he could not have been depressed by that debt,” the prosecutor submitted.
Katanga disagreed, insisting that the debt still mattered.
The prosecution also questioned her about alleged classified government supply deals involving Merge Uganda Limited, including contracts connected to firearms. Katanga denied any experience with guns or firearms training.
“You have never seen me holding or firing a gun,” she said.
Muwaganya further accused her of relying on allegedly falsified medical documents during her bail application. Katanga denied knowledge of any forged medical records, including disputed X-ray reports.
She told court that doctors at International Hospital Kampala attended to her, mentioning Dr. Ssekimpi, Dr. Kavuma, and Dr. Onen, but said she did not know who handled her records.
Under continued questioning, Katanga also said she could not recall who authorised a medical procedure she allegedly underwent or whether she received formal ICU admission documents.
Earlier in the hearing, defence lawyers challenged the introduction of some banking and company records as prosecution evidence.
The defence argued that several documents had already been submitted through the Uganda Registration Services Bureau and questioned the use of uncertified copies and identity records.
But the prosecution insisted the records were certified bank documents relevant to the case because Katanga had acknowledged using them while operating the accounts.
The prosecution later concluded its cross-examination. The case resumes on May 13, 2026, for further defence proceedings.
Katanga is jointly charged alongside her daughters, Martha Nkwanzi and Patricia Kankwanzi, shamba boy George Amanyire, and nursing officer Charles Otai. Prosecutors accuse them of interfering with evidence and attempting to conceal circumstances surrounding Henry Katanga’s death.
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