By Aggrey Baba
Nixon Agasirwe, a former commander in the Uganda Police Forces’ Flying squad, has been charged with the murder of Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi, who was shot dead in 2015.
The charge, read out to Agasirwe on Monday at Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court, has brought back into focus his controversial role in Uganda’s security landscape.
Agasirwe rose through the police ranks as a key figure in the Special Operations Unit, a specialised police group often involved in high-risk missions.
Between 2014 and 2017, he was known for leading operations targeting violent criminals and was considered a powerful force within the police.
However, his career took a sharp turn in 2017 when he was arrested and charged by the military court for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, he allegedly had smuggled from South Sudan, and was using them in police operations outside legal frameworks.
Agasirwe spent four years on remand before his release, but his name continued to appear in reports linking him to abuse of office and obstruction of justice.
The recent murder charge stems from new developments in the long-unsolved killing of Joan Kagezi, who was gunned down on March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, Kampala, as she bought fruits near her home. Kagezi was the lead prosecutor in Uganda’s 2010 terrorism trials, making her death a major blow to the justice system.
According to prosecutors, evidence from a convicted suspect named Daniel Kiwanuka Kisekka implicates a man called “Nixon” as the one who financed and coordinated the murder.
Authorities believe this “Nixon” is Agasirwe, saying that while he did not carry out the shooting himself, he allegedly provided the money and gave instructions to the attackers.
It also is claimed that he used his position to protect suspects and tamper with evidence, including missing surveillance footage from a hotel linked to the case.
When Agasirwe appeared in court yesterday, dressed in a checkered shirt and without a lawyer, he was informed of the murder charge but was not allowed to enter a plea since the offence is punishable by death and must be tried at the High Court.
The Chief Magistrate remanded him to Luzira Prison until July 8, to allow police to complete investigations.
His name has long been associated with secretive operations and human rights concerns, but this is the first time he faces such a serious charge related directly to a political assassination.
Joan Kagezi’s killing remains a painful chapter in Uganda’s fight against terrorism and crime, and her murder left many unanswered questions and a public outcry for justice that has since been slow to materialize.
