Katanga Trial: Widow Points to Aponye Debt and Husband's Breakdown in Murder Defense

Molly Katanga appeared in person for the first time in over a year at the High Court’s Criminal Division before Justice Rosette Comfort Kania. The 57-year-old, on remand since February 2024, denied any role in her husband Henry’s death on November 2, 2023, stating she only learned of his fatal gunshot wound from the prosecution.

Dressed in blue and escorted by prison warders, she described their 32-year marriage as happy, with Henry as a gentle, introverted man who helped raise their four children. However, in the two months before his death, he faced severe stress from his money-lending business due to unpaid debts.

Katanga highlighted the impact of Apollo Nyegamehe’s death—Aponye, founder of Aponye Uganda Ltd, a major supplier of grains and relief items—who left a Shs1.5 billion debt unpaid. This, combined with headaches and incomplete medical treatment, she said, caused her husband’s mental breakdown.

On the morning of the incident, she woke at 6am, tapped him, and went to the bathroom. There, Henry allegedly attacked her with a baton, injuring her head, hands, causing dizziness, balance issues, and breast lumps. He then left, said he would kill himself, and she heard a bang from the bedroom.

Katanga faces joint charges of murder with daughters Patricia Kakwanzi and Martha Nkwanzi, shamba boy George Amanyire, and nurse Charles Otai, plus lesser counts of destroying evidence and being accessories. The court required their defense after a prima facie case. Cross-examination resumes April 2.

Source: Daily Monitor