Assessor advises court to convict three suspects in Kagezi murder
On October 28, 2026, Muhairwe told a panel of four justices, led by Andrew Bashaija, that the prosecution evidence linked the accused to Kagezi’s murder. The other justices on the panel are Richard Wabwire Wejuli, Joyce Kavuma and Duncan Gaswaga.
Assessor advises court to convict three suspects in Kagezi murder
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Assessor Judith Muhairwe has advised the International Crimes Division of the High Court to convict three men accused of murdering senior state prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
The accused are John Kibuuka, John Massajjage, alias Mubiru Brian, and Abdallah Nasur Mugonole.
On October 28, 2026, Muhairwe told a panel of four justices, led by Andrew Bashaija, that the prosecution evidence linked the accused to Kagezi’s murder. The other justices on the panel are Richard Wabwire Wejuli, Joyce Kavuma and Duncan Gaswaga.
“The three accused persons participated in the killing of Kagezi. I, therefore, advise this honourable court to convict them as charged,” she recommended.
The assessor said a prosecution witness who prepared a technical analysis report placed telephone number 0705630083 at the crime scene and linked it to Kibuuka. She said Kibuuka voluntarily presented the number to Kajjansi Police on April 12, 2015, following Kagezi’s murder.
Muhairwe also cited telephone number 075387888, which she said belonged to Massajjage. According to the assessor, his brother-in-law confirmed ownership of the number while testifying in court, saying he had saved it in his contacts as “Muko Kasangati”.
The assessor observed that Kibuuka and Massajjage did not dispute ownership of the telephone numbers in their defence. She consequently concluded that the two men were at the scene when Kagezi was killed.
Court assessors are ordinarily non-lawyers who assist judges in evaluating evidence and reaching decisions in criminal cases. Their opinions are not binding, and judges may either accept or reject their recommendations.
The accused allegedly trailed Kagezi on motorcycles. Kibuuka is accused of firing the bullet that killed her, while Massajjage allegedly rode the motorcycle on which Kibuuka was travelling. Mugonole allegedly rode with Kisekka, who fired a bullet into the air as they fled the scene.
Kisekka is now a convict after pleading guilty to participating in the crime and implicating the three men in the murder. He is serving a 35-year prison sentence at Luzira Prison.
Case to answer
On July 3, 2026, the judges unanimously ruled that the accused had a case to answer after finding that they were directly involved in Kagezi’s killing.
They were subsequently ordered to defend themselves. In their respective testimonies under oath, they denied the allegations and instead implicated former Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura and senior police officer Nixon Agasirwe, alleging that the two were behind Kagezi’s murder.
The assailants were armed with two guns and three magazines containing 90 live rounds of ammunition. After the killing, they allegedly sought the assistance of a witch doctor in Kayunga in an attempt to suppress the case. They were arrested 10 years after the murder.
Agasirwe, Minaana’s arrest
Agasirwe was arrested on May 21 last year after 43-year-old Kisekka told the court that a senior government official named “Nixon” allegedly financed Kagezi’s murder.
Meanwhile, Minaana, who was arrested in 2017 over the Kagezi murder and later released, was re-arrested on June 24 last year by Criminal Investigations Directorate detectives at his home in Galilaya, Kayunga District.
At the time of Kagezi’s killing, Minaana, who joined the Police in an unstructured setting in 2007, was a field operative with the Flying Squad and worked closely with Agasirwe.
Investigators also discovered that Minaana operated a garage about 600 metres from the crime scene, which sources allege may have served as a surveillance or planning point.
The trial of Agasirwe and Minaana is yet to start at the International Crimes Division of the High Court in Kampala.
Earlier investigations conducted jointly by the then Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, now known as Defence Intelligence and Security, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard flagged the suspicious presence of several known police operatives at the scene on the night Kagezi was killed.