By Aggrey Baba
The search for justice in the murder of prosecutor Joan Kagezi has dragged on for nearly a decade, and investigators now point to a single phone call as the moment the case began to crumble.
Four days after Kagezi was gunned down in Kiwatule in March 2015, operatives had cornered one of the prime suspects, John Massajjage (Brian Mubiru) in Iganga.
A six-man team (according to the NewVision) was ready to effect an arrest, but just before they moved in, their commander, reportedly, received a call from Kampala telling them to abandon the mission and return to the city, allowing the suspect to escape.
That phone call has become the riddle at the heart of the case, with questions like: Whose voice was on the line? Who had the power to stop an arrest? And why? A rat does not run in the daytime without something chasing it, a proverb goes, and now, investigators believe the caller may have been acting under instructions to protect the suspect.
This revelation has dragged senior police officers into the spotlight. Among those lined up for interrogation are an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) and senior commissioners, men who were at the centre of decision-making when the probe began (names withheld). Instead of pushing the case forward, they are accused of stalling it, diverting detectives from promising leads, and frustrating efforts to net suspects. In short, the guardians of the law may have been the ones blocking it.
International agencies, including the FBI and Scotland Yard, had earlier raised eyebrows over the suspicious presence of police operatives at the crime scene on the night of Kagezi’s killing. Yet those concerns were quietly brushed aside, leaving the investigation limping. “When the shepherd turns into a wolf, the flock has no hope,” an elder once said, and in this case, it rings true.
The delays are still evident in court today, as Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka admitted before Nakawa Court last week that investigations remain incomplete, asking for more time. Meanwhile, the two suspects in custody, SP. Nickson Karuhanga Agasirwe and former Flying Squad operative Abdul Noor Ssemujju (Minaana) have grown restless, demanding a speedy trial. Their lawyer insists that keeping them in detention without committing them to the High Court is a violation of justice.
To make matters worse, Minaana has alleged that he was forced to pin former Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, in a supposed coup plot. The magistrate advised that such claims be raised before the High Court, but they add yet another layer of intrigue to an already twisted case.
For Kagezi’s family, the wait has been long and painful. She was assassinated while driving home with her children, targeted, allegedly, because she was prosecuting terrorism cases linked to the 2010 Kampala bombings. Nearly ten years later, the killers (though some are in detention) remain at large, shielded by unanswered questions and interference.
As the investigation circles back to the senior officers and the mysterious phone call, one truth stands out, that justice delayed is justice denied, and until those who derailed the probe are unmasked, the case will remain an open wound, reminding Ugandans that even the strongest trees can fall when termites eat them from within. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
