Joan Kagezi Murderer Gets 35 Years

The International Crimes Division of the High Court has sentenced Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka to 35 years in prison  for the murder of Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Namazzi Kagezi .

The sentence now  brings partial closure to a high-profile murder that has haunted Uganda for nearly a decade.

The Highcourt’s International Crimes Division  convicted Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, a charcoal burner, resident of Nsava village in Kayunga for the March 2015 murder of Asst DPP Joan Kagezi Namazzi.

The development comes after Kisekka struck a plea-deal with the Office of the DPP to accept murder charges in exchange to a  lighter punishment. In exchange, the prosecution dropped Terrorism charges against Kisekka and amended the indictment to plead guilty to murder charges.

The court presided over by 4 justices has heard that  Kisekka;  a UPDF desserter stole 5  A-k47s,  brought them to Kampala where he met his co-accused; John Kibuuka, John Masajjage and Nasur Abudallah Mugonole and started committing several robberies.

That in 2008, after a foiled robbery, Kisekka was arrested  and charged before the General Court Martial but escaped from detention at the Military barracks in Makindye and went to Kayunga were he started charcoal burning .

That while there, his co-accused Kibuuka introduced a deal to murder Joan Kagezi and each of the 4 men was paid shs 500,000 to kill Kagezi  whom they mistook for  a judge  interfering with Muslim matters.

It should be noted that at the time of her murder on 30th/ March 2015, Joan Kagezi was the lead  prosecutor in the  2010  Kampala twin bomb suspects case  where most of the suspects were Muslims. 

The court has further heard that in preparation for the said  murder,  Kisekka  cleaned, oiled and  provided the killer gun to  John Kibuuka  who shot/ discharged  the killer bullet in Kagezi’s neck.

The 4 rode on 2 boda-bodas and trailed Kagezi’s car from Kyebando until Kiwatule where  Kibuuka John and Massajjagge caught up with her,  fired at her neck as she stopped with her children to buy fruits from a road-side vendor.

That in order to escape prosecution, Kisekka led other co-accused to Olewo Joseph, a Witch doctor in Kayuga to  whom they paid shs 200,000 to “tie the case” something he managed to do for 8 years until his luck ran out in August 2023 when Kisekka was arrested on theft charges in Luweero and later confessed to murdering Joan Kagezi .

That after his confession and telling on his co-suspects, it was realised that John Kibuuka, Masajjagge and Mugonole were convicts serving sentences for robbery in various prisons. 

However, prosecution has asked that Kisekka be given 35 years in prison  stating  that the murder of Kagezi was meticulously planned and executed in a public place with three of her children in the back seat of the car .

State prosecutor Thomas Jatiko adds that the trauma suffered by these children is immeasurable.

Kagezi’s two adult children have also given a victim statement before court explaining how they live with the tragic death of their mother daily but Kisekka’s lawyer Henry Kunya asked for mercy on behalf of his client whom he has described  as a father to school going children .

However , the 4 justices led by Micheal Elubu have said they are not bound by the  plea-deal agreement signed between Kisekka and the prosecution.