Kagezi murder suspects charged eight years later, remanded

Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s court has remanded two convicts and one prisoner including a charcoal burner for terrorism and the murder of former assistant director of public prosecutions, Joan Namazzi Kagezi.

The accused include Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, a peasant farmer and charcoal burner residing in Nsanvu village, Kitimbwa town council, Kayunga district; John Kibuuka, also known as Musa, a convict at Kigo prison; Nasur Abdallah Mugongole, a convict at Kitalya Mini Max prisons in Mityana district; and John Masajjage, alias Mubiru Brian, alias Badru, alias Chongo, a prisoner at Kitalya.

The suspects arrived at the court under tight security by the counter-terrorism police and heavily armed prison warders. They were held in the court cells for approximately an hour before being brought into a packed courtroom that included over 30 prosecutors and three members of Kagezi’s family.

However, only the assistant director of public prosecutions Thomas Jatiko, and chief state attorney Lillian Omara Alum appeared at the bar to prosecute the case, while others planned to register later.

The court heard that on March 30, 2015, the accused persons, along with others still at large, gunned down Kagezi in Kiwatule, Nakawa Division, Kampala district for the purpose of influencing the government or intimidating the public. They were charged with indiscriminately attacking and murdering Kagezi, a public institution officer.

Since chief magistrate Erias Kakooza had no jurisdiction over the case, the accused individuals, who were not represented by lawyers, have been remanded to their respective prisons until November 20 as investigations continue. Deputy spokesperson of the office of the DPP, Irene Nakimbugwe, confirmed that the convicts in this case had previously been in prison for aggravated robbery. 

Jacqueline Okui, spokesperson for the office of the DPP, referred inquiries about the suspects’ origins and plans to commit the crime to police spokesperson Fred Enanga, who labeled the investigation as “protected” and reserved further details for prosecution.

Despite President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s claim that Kagezi’s killers are in Europe, Nakimbugwe assured that the office is prepared to prosecute the case and has identified the real suspects. This follows eight years of investigations with no arrests made.