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Four men accused of murdering senior prosecutor Joan Namazzi Kagezi, have been committed to the International Crimes Division of the High Court, for trial.

Daniel Kisekka, 43, John Kibuuka alias Musa, 32, John Masajjage alias Brian Mubiru alias Badru alias Chongo, 50, and Nasur Abdallah Mugonole, 39, were committed by Nakawa Court Chief Magistrate Erias Kakooza today, March 6, 2024.

They have been on remand to Luzira Prison since last year.

Kagezi, the former acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), was gunned down in her vehicle on the evening of March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb.

The assailants trailed Kagezi, the mother of four, and shot her when she stopped to buy fruits in Kiwatule, a suburb of Kampala. Kagezi was just minutes away from her residence.

An eyewitness said: “The gunshots sounded like a car tire that had burst. I could see Kagezi struggling for her life as she held her neck, which was bleeding profusely.”

The accused will be tried by the International Crimes Division which has the powers to try capital offences such as murder and terrorism. If convicted, they could face the gallows.

The Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Thomas Jatiko, informed the court that investigations had been completed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, prompting the magistrate to read the indictment to the four men.

According to the evidence prepared by the DPP, the accused persons murdered Kagezi to influence the government or intimidate the public or a section of the public, and for political, religious, and economic gains.

The DPP says that during the commission of the murder, the accused persons acted indiscriminately without due regard for the safety of others or property.

According to the charge sheet sanctioned by the DPP, on November 3, 2023, Kibuuka and Mugonole have been serving a jail term following their conviction for aggravated robbery, while Masajjage has been on remand pending trial on the same charge.

Kibuuka has been at Kigo Prison, while Masajjage and Mugonole have been at Kitalya Prison. On the other hand, Kisekka has been a charcoal burner and a resident of Nsanvu village in Kitimbwa town council, Kayunga district.

Allegations

The prosecution alleges that the four and others still at large on March 30, 2015, at Kiwatule in Nakawa division, Kampala, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of Kagezi.

Regarding terrorism, the prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large, to influence the Government or intimidate the public for religious, economic, or social aims indiscriminately without due regard to the safety of others who attacked Kagezi and murdered her.

At the time of her murder, Kagezi was pursuing a master’s in business administration, and she had also applied for the position of a High Court judge.

She was also the lead prosecutor in the Kampala 2010 twin bombing case before Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, now the current Chief Justice.

Born on July 14, 1967, in Luteete, Rakai District, Kagezi also worked with the Kenyan and Tanzanian Law Enforcement Agencies at the initial stages of the investigations into the Kampala bombing by Al-Shabaab terrorists.  

Over 76 people were killed in the attacks and some of the perpetrators have since been convicted and are serving life imprisonment.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions holds the Kagezi Memorial Lecture annually to remember and pay tribute to her life and work as a senior prosecutor.