High Court Set to Charge SSP Nickson Agasiirwe in High-Profile Murder Case

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nickson Agasiirwe has this morning been presented before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Nakawa, Kampala.

His appearance in court comes shortly after his recent arrest in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2015 assassination of Senior State Prosecutor Joan Kagezi.

Although the exact charges to be brought against him had not been officially disclosed by the time of filing this report, court officials confirmed that Agasiirwe was taken into custody as part of a widening probe into the murder case that has remained unresolved for nearly a decade.

Sources close to the matter say the former police commander, who once headed the Special Operations Unit under former Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura, was arrested last week to aid detectives with information regarding the planning or possible execution of the murder.

Joan Kagezi was shot dead on the evening of March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb, as she returned home from work. At the time of her killing, she was the lead prosecutor in several high-profile terrorism cases, including the 2010 Kampala bombings trial.

SSP Agasiirwe is not new to controversy. He previously faced charges of unlawful repatriation of Rwandan nationals and has often been linked to high-level security operations. His latest appearance in the Kagezi probe has sparked fresh questions over who may have been behind the killing and why justice has taken so long.

Security at the Nakawa Court premises was tight, with plainclothes officers and uniformed police seen around the court to ensure order. Journalists and members of the public were kept at a distance as Agasiirwe was brought in under heavy guard.

The court is expected to either read out the charges or issue guidance on the next steps in the prosecution process