A forensic scientist, Mr Andrew Kizimula Mubiru, hands over the exhibits after testifying before court on August 27, 2024. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
Government analytical laboratory expert Ms Resty Alexandra Nazziwa on April 24 told the High Court in Kampala that she received and examined several abdominal samples of the late businessman Henry Katanga, including urine, liver, kidney, and blood, among others for toxicology examination to rule out whether the late businessman was intoxicated with drugs and alcohol.
The 13th prosecution witness said her results all returned negative for the said substances. She, however, added that a person can commit a crime even if they are not intoxicated.
Our reporters Anthony Wesaka & Juliet Kigongo were in court and now bring you the abridged version of the proceedings as below.
At 9:46am, presiding judge Rosette Comfort Kania walks to the courtroom.
The 13th prosecution witness, Ms Resty Alexandra Nazziwa, heads to the witness box and takes the oath to speak the truth.
Anna Kiiza (Chief State Attorney): State your particulars to the court.
Witness: My name is Resty Alexandra Nazziwa.
Kiiza: How old are you?
Witness: 36 years old
Kiiza: Where do you work?
Witness: I work at the government analytical lab
Kiiza: Which department are you attached to?
Witness:…and Toxicology Division
Kiiza: What is your major role in the Division?
Witness: My major role is to receive exhibits, I preserve the exhibits, extract the exhibits, analyse the extracts, perform data analysis, draft reports, and then be an expert witness in courts of law and any other duties as a government analyst.
Kiiza: For how long have you been doing this work?
Witness: Since 2017, that is seven years and nine months to be exact.
Kiiza: What are your qualifications?
Witness: I hold a Master's Degree in Chemistry from Makerere University, 2025. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Chemistry from Makerere University, 2013. .. (The witness holds many more certificates).
Kiiza: What role did you play in this case?
Witness: I received the exhibits in the toxicology lab, I preserved them, and later, I proceeded to extract the exhibits and analyse them, perform data analysis, drafted the draft report, and later on, I authored the report analysis.
Kiiza: What exhibits did you receive?
Witness: They were post-mortem samples.
Kiiza: How do you normally receive the exhibits?
Witness: Upon receipt of the police form 17A, it's stamped, allocated a lab number, and the date of receipt. Depending on the request, they are transferred to the responsible division; for this case, it was the toxicology division.
Kiiza: How will you be able to identify them?
Witness: By the lab number and date of receipt.
Kiiza: Hands her a document before asking her which document it is
Witness: It’s the police form 17A
Kiiza: You said you can identify it by the lab number, post-mortem number, which number is?
Witness: 3338/ 2023
Kiiza: Where did this police form come from?
Witness: From Bugolobi and has a reference number of SD210211/2023
Kiiza: Is it dated?
Witness: Yes, it's 2nd November, 2023.
Kiiza: What was the name of the deceased on that police form 17A?
Witness: Henry Katanga
Kiiza: What exhibits did you receive?
Witness: T1- stomach content, T2A- kidney, T2B- liver, T3-bale, T4-blood sample, T5-urine, and T6- uterus humour
Kiiza: What was the examination required?
Witness: Toxicology analysis to rule out drugs and alcohol levels.
Kiiza: What was the lab number?
Witness: TX65820/ 2023.
Kiiza: When was this police form 17A received?
Witness: 2nd November 2023.
Kiiza: In what form were the exhibits you have just read out?
Witness: The exhibits were packed in plastic containers, which were later placed in a plastic bag.
Kiiza: What did you do with these exhibits upon receipt?
Witness: Upon receipt of these exhibits, I preserved them
Kiiza: What do you mean by saying you preserved them?
Witness: Keeping them under negative four degrees centigrade
Kiiza: Where?
Witness: In the refrigerator
Kiiza: What did you do after that?
Witness: On the next day, I proceeded with the extraction. This process started by preparing the workspace, cleaning it, and then the exhibits were brought out from the preservation area to the workspace, where they were left to thaw, waiting for processing.
Kiiza: What do you mean by thaw?
Witness: By thaw, we mean the exhibits were in a frozen state, so they are left to come to room temperature.
Kiiza: Go on…
Witness: After that, I started the extraction process.
Kiiza: What does the extraction process entail?
Witness: It entails getting these exhibits in the form they are delivered into a solvent that is suitable for the techniques used for analysis. In this particular case, the main technique that was used was GC-Glass spectrometry.
Kiiza: What did you do next?
Witness: After the extraction, I did the analysis. After the analysis, I did the data analysis or interpretation, and after that, I drafted the report of the analysis
Kiiza: If this report is shown to you, would you be in a position to identify it?
Witness: Yes, I would be in position to do so.
Kiiza: How?
Witness: First, by the lab number, which is TX658/2023, and the report bears my signature.
Kiiza: You told the court that you made a draft report?
Witness: Yes, I did.
Kiiza: What did you do next?
Witness: After drafting the report, it went through review by the division supervisor and approval, and I then authored the final report.
Kiiza: Would you be in a position to identify the final report?
Witness: Yes, by the lab number, date, my signature, and names.
She is handed the report
Witness: This is the report of analysis which I authored in regard to the request on police form 17A.
Kiiza: My lord, I pray to tender the analysis report of the witness and police form 17A as prosecution exhibit...
MacDosman Kabega (Defense lawyer): My lord, we have no objection to the report being tendered, but in respect to the police form 17A, we have no objection, but it should be exhibited as ID.
The judge accepts the tendering in of the report
Kiiza: Take us through your report
Witness: The report, TX658/2023, dated November 10 , 2023. It reads analysis report, police station, Bugolobi, reference number, SD2102112023. PM number 33382023, name of the deceased, Katanga Henry, date of analysis: 3 November 2023. One package of post-mortem exhibit was received on number 30 844DSGT, on my lord, this should have read November 2023, but there was a typo and it read as 2nd November 2022.
Kiiza: What exhibits did you receive?
Witness: The stomach contents of the deceased were given a lab serial number of TSC582023-T1. The second exhibit, T2A, which is part of the kidney from the deceased, was given a serial number…of 2023. T4- blood sample from the deceased was given a lab serial number TX6582023 T4. T5, urine sample from the deceased, was given a lab serial number TX658023 T5. T6 - the uterus humour from the deceased was given a lab serial number 6582023 T6.
The examination
Kiiza: What was the toxicology analysis for?
Witness: To rule out drugs and alcohol.
Kiiza: What were your findings?
Witness: My findings were categorised into three parts. In the preliminary test, under this, I was looking at poisons in compounds used as pesticides in our day-to-day life, and the result was negative.
The second one was a phosphorus test, also used for pesticides, which was also negative.
Next was rat poison, and the result was also negative; next were the reducing sugars, which entail alcohols, for which the result was also negative. The last one was a test for metallic poisons.
These are usually found in mining areas, and these metals can include mercury, for which the results were also negative.
Kiiza: Take us to the second finding
Witness: The second finding was about drugs of abuse. The first one that I tested was of vitamines which are a central nervous system stimulus and the result was negative.
The next one is also a central nervous system, and the test result was negative. The third one is a derivative of the first two, it's also commonly known as Molly, which also tested negative.
Next is cannabis, which is commonly known as marijuana, with the test result being negative.
The next was cocaine, which is mainly a pain killer, an aggressive pain killer, with the test results being negative.
Next was heroin, strongly attached to pain management, the result was negative. Next was morphine and was also negative.
Kiiza: Take us to your last findings
Witness: I got no toxic organic compounds of any forensic relevancy from the samples/ exhibits submitted for analysis.
Kiiza: Did you sign this report?
Witness: Yes, my lord, I signed the report.
Cross-examination by defence lawyers
Kabega: Can one commit an offence even if they haven’t taken any drugs, alcohol, or stimulants?
Witness: It's true
Kabega: Was the police carrying out murder investigations?
Witness: Yes
Kabega: In police form 17A, the police indicated to you what they had so far found, correct?
Witness: Not correct
Kabega: I want to put it to you that the police could have notified you of the nature of the offense, yes?
Witness: Yes.
Kabega: They also indicated to you what the allegation was, correct?
Witness: That is correct.
Kabega: I want you to look at this exhibit, can you read to the court where it's written the nature of the crime?
Witness: It's alleged that the deceased shot himself after a domestic wrangle. The cause of death was gunshot injuries.
Kabega: The police were communicating to you that the deceased shot himself, yes?
Witness: Yes
Kabega: Are you a police officer? What causes gunshot wounds?
Witness: A gun.
Kabega: So, the deceased shot himself, according to police?
Witness: Yes, that is true
Kabega: That is all, my lord.
Elison Karuhanga (Another defense lawyer): If it pleases my lord, I'm Elison Karuhanga. It’s your evidence that you work with DGAL.
Witness: Yes
Karuhanga: Can you confirm that DGal means the Directorate of the Government Analytical Laboratory?
Witness: Yes, I confirm.
Karuhanga: Can you confirm that DGal is a forensic laboratory
Witness: Yes.
