Kanyamunyu trial: Witness says gun used to kill Akena still missing
Mr Matthew Kanyamunyu (left) and fiancée Cynthia Munwangari (right) in the dock at High Court in Kampala during their murder trial on February 6, 2020. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
What you need to know:
- The offence was allegedly committed in 2016
One of the investigating officers in a case in which businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu is accused of shooting child rights activist Kenneth Akena dead has told court that police are yet to find the murder weapon.
Mr Deogratius Obongo told court on Thursday that they searched Kanyamunyu’s home and that of his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari, who was with him at the time of the offence, but did not find any gun.
Explaining how he got involved in the case, Mr Obongo narrated that on November 13, 2016, he was contacted by his supervisor who informed him that there was a shooting victim (Akena) admitted to Norvik Hospital.
"Then our focus was to recover the firearm that had commissioned the crime so we went to Munwangari's residence at Luzira- Port Bell with the help of her brother, Rahul Munwangari and Kanyamunyu but we did not find anything evidential during the search. We proceeded to Kanyamunyu's residence at Butabiika Royal Palm but also did not find anything," the 44-year-old officer narrated.
Court heard that police recovered Kanyamunyu’s shirt which he wore the day Akena was killed, four keys and two phones.
One of the investigating officers, Mr Deogratius Obongo in the witness stand on February 6, 2020
They also recovered one of Akena’s shoes in Kanyamunyu’s car, a Prado UAW 548M which was parked at Wadegeya police station.
Mr Obongo also told court that a scene of crime officer took photographs of Kanyamunyu's shirt but during cross-examination by one of the defence lawyers, Mr Caleb Alaka, he said they did not mark the photographs with descriptions which included the location.
A doctor who preferred to be called Witness X for security reasons also told court during cross-examination that Akena died as a result of excessive bleeding through the muscles caused by a bullet. He said a bullet was found stuck in Akena’s rectal muscles. However, the defence team said it was not satisfied with the doctor’s report arguing that no bullet was recovered during postmortem since it had already been removed from Akena's body during the surgery. Following the observation, the lawyers made an application before court to order witness X produce the hand -written rough notes he made while in the postmortem room. The case was adjourned to February 11 for further hearing.
