Former senior police officer, Nickson Agasiirwe Karuhanga, concealed the murder weapon used to kill former assistant director of public prosecutions (DPP) Joan Namazzi Kagezi, nearly a decade ago, according to the office of the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
Agasiirwe, a senior superintendent of police (SSP), and Abdu Noor Ssemujju, alias Minaana, have now been committed to the High court for trial following a decision by the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s court, after prosecutors confirmed that investigations are complete.
The committal followed the presentation of papers by chief state attorney Richard Birivumbuka, who informed court that the indictment was sanctioned by the DPP on December 15, 2025, and that the state is ready to proceed on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
According to the prosecution, Agasiirwe initially joined the Uganda Police Force as an informant before being regularised as a special police constable attached to the then Rapid Response Unit (RRU) in Kireka.
He rose rapidly through the ranks and by 2015 had become an SSP, commanding the Special Operations Unit, a sensitive outfit reporting directly to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and comprising both regular officers and covert operatives.
While heading the unit, Agasiirwe allegedly recruited Minaana as a police informant despite being fully aware of his extensive criminal record. Prosecutors say Minaana had previously been arrested and remanded at Kireka on charges including murder, armed robbery and motor vehicle theft.
Court records show that Minaana was also linked to several violent crimes, including the attack on Naggalama police station in Mukono district, where officers were shot dead and firearms stolen, hijacking of a fuel tanker in Bweyogerere, and an armed robbery at Arua Park, during which a female hawker was killed.
Despite repeated arrests, the prosecution alleges that Agasiirwe shielded Minaana from prosecution, facilitated his release, and later introduced him to the then IGP Gen Kale Kayihura as a valuable operative.
Minaana was subsequently placed on a police payroll, assigned armed protection and deployed as an informant.
Link to Kagezi’s murder
The alleged arrangement came to light through confessions made by Daniel Kisekka, one of the men convicted for Kagezi’s murder. Testifying before the International Crimes Division of the High court, Kisekka said a man identified as “Nickson” paid him and three others to assassinate Kagezi.
Prosecutors say the killing was motivated by Kagezi’s role in prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases, including the 2010 Kampala bombings, where she was the lead prosecutor. On March 30, 2015, between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Kagezi was shot dead while returning home to Kiwatule, Nakawa Division, with three of her children.
She had briefly stopped at a roadside stall near a washing bay when assailants on a motorcycle opened fire. The prosecution alleges the killing was executed by Daniel Kisekka, John Kisseka, John Masajjagge and Abdallah Nasur Mugonole, all of whom are currently on trial for the same offence.
While Kisekka initially told the court the assassins were promised $200,000, police investigations revealed that Agasiirwe allegedly paid Shs 2 million, with each killer receiving Shs 500,000 immediately after the murder.
Cover-up allegations
Prosecutors allege that Agasiirwe provided the weapons, funding, intelligence, surveillance and logistics, and later coordinated a cover-up. They say he unlawfully took over investigations from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), deployed operatives at Kagezi’s home, restricted access, seized her laptop and sensitive prosecution files, and later returned her long-missing mobile phone.
At an inter-agency security meeting held on March 29, 2015, a day before her death, Kagezi reportedly expressed fear that Agasiirwe and others intended to kill her. In April 2015, Agasiirwe allegedly claimed at another security meeting that he had recovered the murder weapon in Kayunga district, but left without producing it, a move prosecutors say was meant to divert investigations.
The indictment, signed by Assistant DPP Thomas Jatiko, further alleges that Agasiirwe and Minaana were involved in multiple murders and robberies in Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya and Dubai, and that Kagezi had already sanctioned criminal charges against them before her death.
Medical reports from Police Form 24 and Uganda Prisons indicate that both accused are of sound mental health. Prosecutors plan to rely on video-recorded charge-and-caution statements, interview recordings, witness testimony and corroborating evidence placing Agasiirwe near the scene shortly after the killing.
Agasiirwe and Minaana have been remanded to Luzira Prison pending allocation of a trial date by the High court. Before his latest arraignment, Agasiirwe had spent five years in detention after his 2017 arrest on charges related to illegal repatriation of refugees and unlawful possession of ammunition.
He was previously charged alongside former IGP Gen Kale Kayihura and others over alleged abuse of office and illegal arms possession.
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