The High Court’s International Crimes Division is today expected to resume the trial of suspects accused of murdering Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi, a decade after her assassination and months after the case stalled in December 2025.
The trial had been delayed following the lengthy committal process in lower courts, but proceedings picked up again this week in Kampala, marking a significant development in one of Uganda’s most high-profile criminal cases.
Kagezi, who served as head of the International Crimes Division at the Ministry of Justice, was shot dead on March 30, 2015, in the Kampala suburb of Kiwatule while returning home with her children.
Her death shocked the nation and triggered a complex investigation that involved multiple suspects and legal hurdles.
Over the years, several suspects were arrested, with at least one convicted and sentenced, while others were committed for trial.
At the last court hearing, Senior Superintendent of Police Nickson Karuhanga Agasirwe, one of the principal accused, was denied bail.
The High Court cited the severity of the charges and the risk of flight as reasons for keeping him in custody at Luzira Maximum Security Prison while the trial continues.
Agasirwe and former Flying Squad operative Abdul Noor Ssemujju face charges of murder under sections 171 and 172 of the Penal Code Act, which carry the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
Prosecutors allege that the killing was planned, coordinated, and financed by Agasirwe, with testimony from other convicts and intelligence reports pointing to the involvement of a wider network of co-accused.
The committal to the High Court followed an indictment filed in December 2025 at Nakawa Grade One Magistrate’s Court, formally transferring the case to the International Crimes Division, which has jurisdiction over capital offences such as murder.
State prosecutors have presented evidence suggesting that Agasirwe orchestrated the plot to eliminate Kagezi, who was handling sensitive terrorism and crime cases at the time of her death.
The evidence includes confessions from other suspects, financial records, and witness testimonies indicating payments to gunmen.
In a related part of the case, former army deserter Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka has already been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty, with his testimony forming part of the prosecutorial evidence.
The trial is now underway, with judges expected to manage the presentation of evidence, hear witness testimonies, and rule on key motions.
Both Agasirwe and Ssemujju remain on remand as the High Court proceeds with the full hearing.
