Nixon Agasirwe Karuhanga who is said to have paid Joan Kagezi killers.
The Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court has committed Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nixon Agasirwe Karuhanga and Abdunoor Ssemujju, alias Minaana, to the High Court for trial for the alleged murder of former Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Joan Namazzi Kagezi nearly ten years ago.
They were committed on Wednesday following a report from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions confirming that investigations into the matter are complete and that the State is ready to proceed to trial based on circumstantial evidence. The committal papers were presented by Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka, who informed the court that the indictment had been sanctioned by the DPP on December 15, 2025.
According to the prosecution, Agasirwe joined the Uganda Police Force as an informant before being regularised as a Special Police Constable attached to the Rapid Response Unit in Kireka.
He rose quickly through the ranks, and by 2015, he had attained the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police, commanding the Special Operations Unit, a highly sensitive unit reporting directly to the Inspector General of Police and comprising both regular police officers and special operatives.
While commanding the Special Operations Unit, Agasiirwe allegedly recruited Abdu Noor Ssemujju, alias Minaana, as a police informant despite being aware of his extensive criminal record. The prosecution notes that Minaana had previously been arrested and remanded at Kireka for serious offences, including murder, armed robbery, and other violent crimes. The two reportedly met while Minaana was detained on charges related to motor vehicle theft and other criminal activities in and around Kampala.
Court records presented by the prosecution indicate that Minaana was suspected of involvement in several violent crimes, including an attack on Naggalama Police Station in Mukono District, where officers were shot dead and their firearms stolen. He is also accused of hijacking a fuel tanker at gunpoint in Bweyogerere, offloading the fuel in Kabuusu, Lubaga Division, and participating in an armed robbery at Arua Park, where a female hawker was killed.
Despite multiple arrests and remands, the prosecution alleges that SSP Agasiirwe shielded Minaana from prosecution and facilitated his release.
It is further alleged that Agasirwe introduced Minaana to the then Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, portraying him as a valuable operative. Consequently, Minaana was recruited as a police informant with a monthly salary and armed protection, despite his criminal history. The alleged arrangement came to light through confessions made by one of Kagezi’s convicted killers, Daniel Kisekka.
Kisekka testified before the High Court’s International Crimes Division that a man identified as “Nickson” paid him and three others to assassinate Kagezi, allegedly motivated by her role in prosecuting Muslim suspects, including the 2010 Kampala bombings case, where she was the lead prosecutor.
On March 30, 2015, between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Kagezi was returning home in Kiwatule, Nakawa Division, Kampala, in a double-cabin pickup truck with three of her children. She briefly stopped at a roadside stall near a washing bay to buy fruits when assailants on a motorcycle shot her dead. The prosecution alleges that the murder was carried out by Daniel Kisekka, John Kisseka, John Masajjagge, and Abdallah Nasur Mugonole, all of whom are currently on trial at the International Crimes Division for the same murder.
While Kisekka initially told the court that the payment for the assassination was USD 200,000, police investigations revealed that Agasiirwe initially paid a total of two million Ugandan shillings, with each of the four killers receiving 500,000 Shillings immediately after the killing.
The prosecution alleges that Agasiirwe provided the weapons, financing, intelligence, surveillance, and logistical support, and later coordinated a cover-up. After the suspects were arrested for stealing a motorcycle and detained at Kireka, Agasiirwe allegedly met them in custody and continued to facilitate them.
Daniel Kisekka was later convicted and sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for the murder of Kagezi. The prosecution plans to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence, particularly Agasiirwe’s conduct following the murder. He is accused of unlawfully taking over investigations from the Criminal Investigations Directorate, deploying operatives at Kagezi’s home, restricting access, seizing her laptop and sensitive prosecution files, and later returning her long-missing mobile phone. Records also show that during an inter-agency security meeting on March 29, 2015, a day before her murder, Kagezi expressed fear that Agasiirwe and others intended to kill her, a fear realised the next day.
In April 2015, Agasiirwe reportedly claimed at another inter-agency meeting to have recovered Kagezi’s killer’s gun in Kayunga District but left immediately without producing it, allegedly to divert investigations and cover up the crime. The indictment, signed by Assistant DPP Thomas Jatiko, further alleges that Agasiirwe and Minaana were close confidants involved in multiple murders and robberies in Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Dubai.
Prosecutors state that by the time of her death, Kagezi had sanctioned criminal charges against the two, causing them serious concern about imminent arrest and prosecution. Medical examinations of both accused, using Police Form 24 and Uganda Prisons medical reports, found them to be of sound mental health and without physical injuries. Video-recorded charge and caution statements and interview recordings of both Agasiirwe and Minaana are expected to be tendered during the trial. Witness testimony and corroborating evidence are also expected to place Agasiirwe at or near the scene shortly after the killing.
Agasiirwe and Minaana have been returned to Luzira Prison, pending a date when the High Court Criminal Division will fix their case for hearing. Before his arraignment at Nakawa Court, Agasiirwe had previously spent five years in prison before being granted bail by the General Court Martial on 7 March 2022. He had been in detention since 24 October 2017 on charges related to failure to protect war materials and illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees, initially appearing in court on 13 February 2018 for unlawful possession of ammunition.
In August 2018, he was charged alongside former Inspector General of Police Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura and ten others, including Col. Ndahura Atwooki, Herbert Muhangi, Patrick Muramira, Jonas Ayebaza, Joel Aguma, James Magada, Benon Atwebembeire, Abel Tumukunde, Faisal Katende Amon Kwarisiima, Rwandan national Rene Rutagungira, and Congolese national Pacifique Mugenga Bahati, alias Ilunga Monga.
They were accused of unlawful possession of military-grade weapons, including tortoise grenades, and aiding the illegal repatriation of Rwandan exiles and Ugandan citizens to Rwanda, including Lt. Joel Mutabaazi, Jackson Karemera, and Sgt. Innocent Kalisa. They were also charged with failing to supervise and account for arms and ammunition issued to specialised police units under the office of the IGP. Among others involved was Abdullah Kitatta, former patron of Boda Boda 2010, who has since completed his sentence.
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