Court Fixes Agasiirwe Bail Application for Ruling

The High Court in Kampala is set to rule on March 18, 2026, concerning the bail application of Nickson Agasirwe Karuhanga, the former commandant of the Special Investigations Unit.

He faces charges related to the murder of Joan Namazzi Kagezi, who served as an Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judge Isaac Muwata on Thursday set the date after confirming that both Agasirwe and his lawyers as well as the Prosecution through Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka had filed their respective submissions on Court record via the online system of filing cases known as the Electronic Court Case Management Information System-ECCMIS

Although Birivumbuka wasn’t in Court and had wanted the matter stood over as he comes after being caught up on other prosecutional duties in another Court, the Judge found it not necessary since all the information he wants to decide on the case is already uploaded on the system.

Agasiirwe was arrested on May 21, 2025, in Lugogo in Kampala and initially detained at the Police Flying Squad Headquarters in Kireka before being transferred to Mbuya Military Detention Centre. He was later charged before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court on June 16, 2025, and remanded to Luzira Maximum Security Prison, where he remains in custody to date. 

Through his lawyers of Akampurira & Partners Advocates and Legal Consultants, Agasiirwe argues that he has appeared in court on several occasions but has not been committed to the High Court for trial because investigations are not yet complete.

In his supporting affidavit sworn at Luzira Prison on December 15, 2025, Agasiirwe states that he has now spent more than six months on remand without being committed for trial, which he says violates his constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial and the presumption of innocence.

He is seeking mandatory bail under Article 23(6)(c) of the 1995 Constitution, which provides for release on bail for capital offences where an accused has been on remand for 180 days without trial.

Agasiirwe, 54, also cites his age and health concerns, arguing that continued detention poses a danger to his life. He told the court that he has a fixed place of abode, substantial sureties, and investments, including land, and is unlikely to abscond if released and that he has substantial sureties.

Agasiirwe, who is jointly charged with Abdunoor Ssemujju, alias Minaana, was in December 2025 committed to the High Court for trial over the 2015 murder of former Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Namazzi Kagezi. 

The two were committed by the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed that investigations were complete and that the State was ready to proceed to trial based largely on circumstantial evidence.

Kagezi was shot dead on March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, Nakawa Division, as she returned home with her children. Assailants riding on a motorcycle opened fire as she stopped by a roadside stall. At the time of her death, she was the lead prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 2010 Kampala bombings. 

According to the prosecution, Agasiirwe, who had risen through the ranks to command the Special Operations Unit reporting directly to then Inspector General of Police Edward Kale Kayihura, allegedly recruited Ssemujju as a police informant despite his criminal record.

The State contends that Ssemujju had previously been implicated in serious crimes, including armed robbery and murder, but was shielded from prosecution. It is further alleged that Agasiirwe introduced him to Kayihura as a valuable operative, leading to his recruitment as a police informant. Prosecution further alleges that one of the convicted killers, Daniel Kisekka, testified before the High Court’s International Crimes Division that a man identified as “Nixon” paid him and others to assassinate Kagezi.

Kisekka was later convicted and sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for the murder. The State claims Agasiirwe provided financing, weapons, intelligence, and logistical support for the assassination and later participated in a cover-up. Investigators also allege that Kagezi had expressed fears during a security meeting a day before her murder that Agasiirwe and others intended to kill her.

Agasiirwe and Ssemujju deny the charges and remain on remand at Luzira Prison awaiting the fixing of their trial date before the High Court Criminal Division. Agasiirwe had previously spent five years on remand before being granted bail by the General Court Martial in March 2022 on separate charges related to unlawful possession of ammunition and illegal repatriation of Rwandan refugees.