One of the three suspects on trial for the murder of former assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Joan Kagezi Namazzi has told the court that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gen Kale Kayihura masterminded the assassination.
Kagezi was shot dead on March 30, 2015, near her home in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb.
The trial resumed before the International Crimes Division of the High court in Kampala on Friday, with accused person, Nasur Abdallah Mugonole testifying in his defence. Mugonole told the court that although he was aware of the plot to kill Kagezi, he did not participate in the actual shooting.
Instead, he alleged that police officer Hamisi Kakaire was the gunman and that the firearm used in the killing had been supplied by former Flying Squad commander Nixon Agasirwe, who is separately charged with Kagezi’s murder alongside Abdul Noor Ssemujju, alias Minana.
Their case is pending trial before the High court following the completion of investigations in December 2025. Mugonole told the court that his role was limited to gathering intelligence on individuals involved in planning the assassination and reporting to a person he identified only as “Green.”
During his testimony, Mugonole claimed he had participated in other violent operations, including alleged assassination plots, bomb attacks and targeted killings.
He further alleged that Kayihura was involved in the operation that culminated in Kagezi’s murder. He named several individuals whom he claimed were part of the operation, including J.J. Odong, Hamza Kagame, David Muhamuzi and another person identified only as Kayanja, whom he described as an intelligence operative.
According to Mugonole, Kagezi knew him personally and possessed documents allegedly linking Kayihura to violent activities and illegal firearms dealings. He claimed the documents angered the former police chief.
Mugonole further alleged that Kayihura had offered Kagezi Shs1 billion in exchange for the documents, but she declined the offer, saying she intended to hand them over to President Yoweri Museveni.
He also told the court that co-accused-turned-state witness Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka had informed him while they were in prison that Kayihura financed and masterminded the operation and that Kisekka had introduced him to Agasirwe.
Mugonole further alleged that Kagezi’s mobile phone was stolen before her murder by a man he identified as Calvin Jordan, who allegedly gained the family’s trust by pretending to be interested in dating Kagezi’s daughter. He claimed Jordan maintained contact with the family from 2010 until Kagezi’s death.
According to Mugonole, Jordan handed the stolen phone to Agasirwe, who allegedly delivered it to Kayihura at his residence in Ntinda. He further claimed the phone was given to a man identified as Lieutenant Francis, who allegedly installed a tracking device bearing serial number 3250 to monitor Kagezi’s movements before the phone was returned to her three days later.
Mugonole alleged that similar phone-tracking methods were later used against former Buyende district police commander Muhammad Kirumira and former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) and police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi before they were killed.
He also told the court that the original plan had been to kill Kagezi on March 29, 2015. Mugonole admitted participating in the robbery of a women’s SACCO with Kisekka and testified that while living with him for four months, Kisekka brought two guns and their magazines on June 24, 2007.
He further said he remained in contact with members of the group while in prison because they believed they had connections to senior government officials and continued sharing information.
However, when the panel of judges asked him to identify those officials, Mugonole declined, saying he feared for his safety. The prosecution is expected to cross-examine Mugonole when the hearing resumes.
The three accused currently on trial are John Kibuuka, also known as Musa, an inmate at Kigo Prison; Nasur Abdallah Mugonole; and John Masajjage, also known as Brian Mubiru, Badru or Congo, both of whom are incarcerated at Kitalya Maximum Security Prison.
They were initially charged alongside Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, who pleaded guilty, entered a plea bargain with the prosecution and was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment after becoming a state witness.
Two weeks ago, a panel of four High court judges, Dr Andrew Bashaija, Duncan Gaswaga, Joyce Kavuma and Richard Wejuli Wabwire ruled that the remaining three accused had a case to answer and ordered them to begin presenting their defence.
During the prosecution’s case, Kisekka testified that he had known all three accused since childhood and that they had worked in neighbouring bakeries around Kalerwe before he joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in 2002.
He told the court that after completing military training in 2003, he met Kibuuka in Kalerwe, who allegedly persuaded him to desert the army, steal firearms and return to Kampala to commit armed robberies.
Kisekka admitted participating in several motorcycle robberies and attacks on microfinance institutions before agreeing to take part in Kagezi’s murder. Kisekka further testified that after deserting the army and escaping from Makindye Military Barracks in July 2011, he relocated to Namaliri in Mukono district, where he grew watermelons and tomatoes before later engaging in charcoal burning.
According to his testimony, Kibuuka later approached him with an offer of $200,000 to kill Kagezi because she was allegedly interfering with Muslim-related cases. Kisekka said Kibuuka never disclosed who wanted Kagezi dead but assured him that the sponsor would supply the murder weapons.
He testified that two days before the murder, he went to Mugonole’s home in Nabweru to clean and oil the two guns that would be used in the operation.
On March 30, 2015, Kisekka said, Kibuuka called the group to assemble under a mango tree in Kyebando, where he distributed a gun and magazine and paid each member Shs 500,000 as a deposit.
The group then travelled on two motorcycles through Bahai and Ntinda to Kiwatule Church, where they waited for Kagezi. According to Kisekka, when Kagezi stopped her white double-cabin pickup to buy fruits at about 7 p.m., Kibuuka signalled the team by raising his thumb. Masajjage rode past the vehicle, allowing Kibuuka to jump off and allegedly shoot Kagezi twice.
Kisekka testified that he then fired a shot into the air to disperse bystanders, enabling Kibuuka to confirm that Kagezi was dead before the group fled through Nsooba and Kanyanya.
He added that the following day they travelled to a traditional healer in Kayunga District to perform rituals intended to help them evade arrest. Court records show investigators took about eight years to identify and arrest all the suspects.
The records indicate that Masajjage fled to the Buvuma Islands, where he worked as a shoe repairer and boda boda rider under the name Brian Mubiru to evade arrest. He was eventually arrested in Wandegeya in August 2023.
Investigators also established that Kibuuka and Mugonole had already been arrested, convicted and imprisoned for unrelated offences committed after Kagezi’s murder.
Kisekka was arrested in Luwero in October 2023 over an alleged theft case. While in custody, investigators linked him to Kagezi’s murder, leading to his cooperation with prosecutors, guilty plea and eventual sentencing.
The trial resumes in September 2026.
