Former IGP Kayihura accused in court of masterminding Joan Kagezi murder

One of the men standing trial over the 2015 murder of former assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Kagezi has alleged in court that former Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura orchestrated the assassination.

Nasur Abdallah Mugonole made the claims on Friday while giving his defence before the International Crimes Division of the High Court in Kampala. Gen Kayihura has not been convicted of, or charged in relation to, Kagezi’s murder, and the allegations were made during Mugonole’s testimony.

Kagezi was shot dead on 30 March 2015 near her home in Kiwatule, a suburb of Kampala.

Mugonole told the court that although he knew about the plan to kill the senior prosecutor, he did not take part in the shooting itself.

Instead, he alleged that police officer Hamisi Kakaire was the gunman and claimed the firearm used in the killing had been supplied by former Flying Squad commander Nixon Agasirwe.

Agasirwe is facing separate murder charges alongside Abdul Noor Ssemujju, also known as Minana. Their trial is yet to begin after investigations were completed in December 2025.

According to Mugonole, his role was limited to collecting intelligence on those involved in the alleged plot and passing the information to a person he identified only as “Green.”

During his evidence, Mugonole also claimed he had taken part in other violent operations, including alleged assassination plots, bomb attacks and targeted killings.

He named several people he alleged were involved in the operation against Kagezi, including J.J. Odong, Hamza Kagame, David Muhamuzi and an intelligence operative identified only as Kayanja.

Mugonole further alleged that Kagezi possessed documents linking Gen Kayihura to violent activities and illegal firearms dealings, and that the former police chief was angered by the documents.

He claimed Gen Kayihura offered Kagezi one billion Ugandan shillings in exchange for the documents, but she refused, saying she intended to hand them to President Yoweri Museveni.

The accused also testified that former co-accused Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, who later became a state witness, had told him in prison that Gen Kayihura financed and masterminded the operation and that Kisekka had introduced him to Agasirwe.

Mugonole further alleged that Kagezi’s mobile phone had been stolen before her death by a man he identified as Calvin Jordan, who allegedly gained the family’s trust by pretending to pursue a relationship with Kagezi’s daughter.

He claimed Jordan handed the phone to Agasirwe, who allegedly delivered it to Gen Kayihura at his Ntinda residence before it was passed to a man identified as Lieutenant Francis.

According to Mugonole, a tracking device bearing serial number 3250 was allegedly installed on the phone to monitor Kagezi’s movements before it was returned to her three days later.

He also alleged that similar phone-tracking methods were later used against former Buyende District Police Commander Muhammad Kirumira and former Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi before they were killed.

Mugonole told the court that the original plan had been to kill Kagezi on 29 March 2015, a day before the assassination.

He admitted taking part in the robbery of a women’s savings and credit cooperative with Kisekka and said he remained in contact with members of the group while in prison because they believed they had links to senior government officials.

However, when the panel of judges asked him to identify those officials, Mugonole declined, saying he feared for his safety.

The prosecution is expected to cross-examine him when the hearing resumes.

Three men are currently on trial over Kagezi’s murder: John Kibuuka, also known as Musa; Nasur Abdallah Mugonole; and John Masajjage, also known as Brian Mubiru, Badru or Congo.

Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, who was initially charged alongside them, pleaded guilty after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison after becoming a state witness.

Earlier this month, a panel of four High Court judges — Dr Andrew Bashaija, Duncan Gaswaga, Joyce Kavuma and Richard Wejuli Wabwire — ruled that the remaining three accused had a case to answer and ordered them to begin presenting their defence.

During the prosecution’s case, Kisekka testified that he had known all three accused since childhood and that they had worked in neighbouring bakeries in Kalerwe before he joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in 2002.

He told the court that after completing military training in 2003, Kibuuka persuaded him to desert the army, steal firearms and return to Kampala to carry out armed robberies.

Kisekka admitted participating in motorcycle robberies and attacks on microfinance institutions before agreeing to take part in Kagezi’s murder.

He testified that Kibuuka later offered him $200,000 to kill Kagezi because she was allegedly interfering with Muslim-related cases, although he said Kibuuka never disclosed who was behind the plot.

According to Kisekka, two days before the killing he went to Mugonole’s home in Nabweru to clean and oil the two guns that would be used.

He said that on the evening of 30 March 2015 the group gathered in Kyebando, where Kibuuka distributed a gun and magazine and paid each member 500,000 Ugandan shillings as an advance.

The group then travelled by motorcycle to Kiwatule, where they waited for Kagezi.

Kisekka testified that when Kagezi stopped her vehicle to buy fruit at about 19:00 local time, Kibuuka signalled the group before allegedly shooting her twice.

He told the court that he fired a shot into the air to disperse bystanders, allowing the attackers to escape before later travelling to Kayunga District to seek rituals from a traditional healer intended to help them avoid arrest.

Court records show investigators took about eight years to identify and arrest all the suspects.

Masajjage allegedly fled to the Buvuma Islands, where he worked under the name Brian Mubiru before being arrested in Wandegeya in August 2023.

Investigators also established that Kibuuka and Mugonole had already been imprisoned for unrelated offences committed after Kagezi’s murder.

Kisekka was arrested in Luwero in October 2023 over an alleged theft case before investigators linked him to Kagezi’s killing, leading to his cooperation with prosecutors and guilty plea.

The trial is due to resume in September 2026.