Lawyers petition DPP over Agasirwe’s detention

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A law firm has petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo, seeking the release of the former Special Operations Unit commander, Nickson Agasirwe, who is accused of killing Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Kagezi.

In a letter dated June 2, 2025, Akampurira and Partners want Agasirwe to be unconditionally released from the Flying Squad headquarters in Kireka, Kampala, or formally charged if the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has sufficient evidence against him.

“Keeping our client in detention indefinitely and in such inhuman conditions is unconstitutional and unacceptable. If no steps are taken to release him, we shall have no option but to seek redress in the court of law,” the law firm warned.

According to the law firm, Agasirwe’s continued detention without being produced or formally charged in the court of law violates Article 23(4) and 44 of the Constitution and his fundamental rights.

The letter was copied to the Attorney General, Inspector General of Police, Director of Criminal Investigations Department Kibuli, and Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Kampala.

The law firm says that Agasirwe was arrested on May 21, 2025, at Lugogo by unidentified security officers and driven to the Flying Squad headquarters in Kireka, Kampala. The law firm states that since then, he [Agasirwe] has been held incommunicado without access to his lawyers and family members.

“Our client has to date spent 15 days in custody without being produced in court nor has he been officially informed of any reason for his arrest,” Akampurira and Partners contends.

The law firm alleges that Agasirwe has not been allowed to access essential services such as food, water, and medical facilities, which amounts to inhuman treatment and torture.

The lawyers from the said law firm say Agasirwe informed them that in 2017, he was arrested with several others on allegations of killing Kagezi and he was produced before the General Court Martial (GCM).

The lawyers purport that the allegations were investigated by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and other security agencies, and Agasirwe was exonerated after spending five years in Makindye Military Police Barracks.

“We, therefore, find it strange and unreasonable to subject our client to fresh investigations on similar allegations for which he was investigated, exonerated, and released by GCM in 2022,” the law firm states.

According to the lawyer, these actions amount to double jeopardy under the law.

The law firm states that a nolle prosequi was entered by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2024 (a copy of which the law firm attached to the petition).

Nolle prosequi is a formal written statement by the prosecution in a criminal case that it will not pursue a particular charge against the person who was charged.

Last week, the team grilling Agasirwe revisited telephone printouts that reportedly placed him and other Flying Squad operatives near the crime scene.

The investigators are reportedly seeking to understand from Agasirwe why he was near the crime scene together with three other operatives who were working under him.

This, sources revealed, could provide details in the ongoing investigations linking Agasirwe to the events surrounding Kagezi’s murder.

The issue of the call logs first surfaced shortly after Kagezi was gunned down on her way home in Kiwatule, Kampala, on March 30, 2015.

At the time, questions were raised about the presence of Agasirwe’s phone number on the logs as well as those of three Flying Squad operatives, one of whom was based at the regional offices at Jinja Road Police Station under Kampala Metropolitan East.

The printouts have emerged again. This time, they have been subjected to updated filtering, tower analysis and link-mapping.

This analysis was previously conducted jointly by Ugandan intelligence officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) digital forensic analysts.

According to sources close to the probe, the FBI got involved soon after Kagezi’s murder due to her active role in prosecuting the 2010 Kampala twin bombing suspects, a case with regional and international implications.

At least 74 people were killed at the Kyadondo Rugby Grounds and Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala, Kampala, when the bombs went off.

Convict names Agasirwe

A select team of interrogators from the Police and the army started questioning Agasirwe last week over his alleged link to Kagezi’s murder.

Agasirwe was arrested after Daniel Kiwanuka Kisekka, a Uganda People’s Defence Forces deserter who pleaded guilty to murdering Kagezi, mentioned his name as the sponsor of the assassination.

Kagezi was shot dead by assailants riding on a motorcycle on March 30, 2015, after she stopped at a stall on the roadside in Kiwatule, Kampala, to buy fruits.

The autopsy report indicated that she was shot twice in the neck and shoulder, through the window of the driver’s seat.

On May 19, Kisekka, 43, pleaded guilty to murdering Kagezi. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison following a plea bargain that he entered into with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Under a plea bargain, a suspect pleads guilty to charges in exchange for a lighter punishment.

The DPP, Jane Frances Abodo, then dropped terrorism charges against Kisekka. He was convicted of only murder. The former soldier has since been turned into a state witness.

During his testimony, Kisekka claimed that he was told by suspect John Kibuuka, alias Musa, that a man identified only as Nixon had contracted them to kill Kagezi.

Kibuuka and his co-accused, Nasur Abdallah Mugonole, 39 and John Masajjage alias Brian Mubiru, 50, who have since denied murdering Kagezi, now face charges of terrorism and murder. The offences attract a maximum punishment of death on conviction.

When assistant DPP Lino Anguzu asked for Nixon’s full name, Kisekka replied: “I only know Nixon.”

Kisekka made the disclosure at the High Court, sitting at the International Crimes Division in Kampala. The court is being presided over by judges: Michael Elubu, Stephen Mubiru, Dr Winfred Nyondo Nabisinde and Celia Nagawa.