Nearly a decade after the shocking assassination of Senior Prosecutor Joan Namazzi Kagezi, the pursuit of justice has reached a critical stage. On March 24, 2025, Hon. Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha of the High Court’s International Crimes Division confirmed terrorism and murder charges against four individuals, paving the way for their trial.
The accused—Kisekka Daniel Kiwanuka (A1), Kibuuka John aka Musa (A2), Massajjage John aka Mubiru Brian aka Badru aka Chongo (A3), and Nasur Abdallah Mugonole (A4)—were formally charged in English and Luganda during a pre-trial hearing. They were not required to enter pleas at this stage.
Joan Namazzi Kagezi, an Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, was brutally murdered on March 30, 2015, by gunmen on motorcycles while buying fruit, with her children present. She died shortly after arriving at Mulago Referral Hospital, sending shockwaves across Uganda.
During the pre-trial, the prosecution, led by Assistant DPP Jatiko Thomas and Chief State Attorney Lillian Omara Alum, presented evidence indicating that Kibuuka John (A2) confessed to participating in the assassination alongside Massajjage John (A3). A3 was apprehended in August 2023, and Kisekka Daniel (A1) was arrested in October 2023, confessing to involvement and implicating the others. Nasur Abdallah Mugonole (A4), already imprisoned for unrelated offenses, was also linked to the crime.
Witnesses testified that A3 had boasted about his role, revealing that the attack was planned in the Democratic Republic of Congo and financially motivated. Prosecutors argued that Kagezi was targeted for her role in prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases, an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.
Evidence presented included confessions, phone records placing A2 and A3 at the crime scene, and testimony from a witch doctor who corroborated that A1, A2, and A4 sought his protection post-murder. Medical evaluations confirmed the accused were mentally fit for trial.
Hon. Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha ruled that the assassination was intended to influence government proceedings and intimidate the public, particularly the legal community. She also emphasized the public nature of the murder as an act of terror, and that the evidence sufficiently linked the accused to the crimes.
The court confirmed Kagezi’s killing as unlawful and premeditated, meeting the legal requirements for a murder charge. The judge directed the prosecution to amend the indictment to reflect the correct legal provisions from the Revised Seventh Edition of Uganda’s laws, setting the stage for the trial.
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