Bullet found in Akena’s body, doctor tells court
On trial. Mr Matthew Kanyamunyu and Ms Cynthia Munwangari in the dock at the High Court in Kampala yesterday. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- Mr Kanyamunyu’s defence lawyers, Mr MacDusman Kabega, Mr Caleb Alaka and Mr Evans Ochieng could not cross-examine the pathologist after Ms Munwangari raised concerns about poor French translation by the court interpreter.
A black bullet was recovered from the body of children rights activist Kenneth Akena, a pathologist told the High Court yesterday.
Testifying as an expert witness under pseudo name “X” due to security reasons, the pathologist told court that he retrieved a black bullet measuring 11mm by 4mm with a flat top in Akena’s rectum.
He said he established the cause of Akena’s death as haemorrhagic shock due to the gunshot injury inflicted by the bullet, which was lodged in Akena’s body through the chest.
Businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu, the managing director of Quatum Logistics Ltd, and his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari are charged with the murder. They are accused of killing Akena by shooting after the deceased accidently scratched their car while he reversed for parking on Kyadondo Rugby Club ground on Jinja Road in Lugogo on November 12, 2016.
Justice Stephen Mubiru is hearing the case.
The pathologist narrated how he and his colleague (name also concealed for same reason) carried out the postmortem report on Akena’s body on November 13, a day after the shooting. He said he handed the report to police.
The pathologist was prosecution witness No. 5. He said findings of the postmortem showed that all Akena’s organs in the abdomen had blood.
“Also within the abdomen, we found two surgical instruments that were holding the lining of the intestines. There was bleeding in the line of the intestine. The large intestine had been incorporated by cutting them into two and stitching them together. The liver contained a lot of fat within it,” the pathologist testified.
He further said they found seven blood-soaked mops, which had been left inside the abdomen during surgery.
Mr Kanyamunyu’s defence lawyers, Mr MacDusman Kabega, Mr Caleb Alaka and Mr Evans Ochieng could not cross-examine the pathologist after Ms Munwangari raised concerns about poor French translation by the court interpreter.
The trial was adjourned to February 4 and February 6 for further hearing and to secure a new competent French interpreter.
“In the meantime, the registrar should ensure that a French interpreter is secured before then with the cooperation of Ms Munwangari. Bail is accordingly extended until then,” Justice Mubiru ruled.
EARLIER TESTIMONY
The trial started on Wednesday with four prosecution witnesses giving evidence. Witness No. 4 Robert Mutebi, a former security guard at Nakasero Hospital where Akena was taken after the shooting, told court that on the fateful day at around 7:30pm, Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend brought Akena to the hospital with a bullet wound.
