Joan Kagezi Murder: Who Is Nickson The Government Officer Who Paid The Killers Of The Former Star Public Prosecutor, Who Is His Godfather!

KAMPALA, Uganda: In the quiet corridors of Uganda’s criminal justice system, a disturbing pattern is unfolding. One that raises more questions than answers about the country’s most high-profile assassinations. From prosecutors to police chiefs, politicians to clerics, the blood of influential Ugandans continues to soak the nation’s conscience, with accountability still playing second fiddle to state theatrics.

For over a decade, the nation has watched, often in horror, as prominent figures have been gunned down in broad daylight or under suspicious circumstances. Yet, as if rehearsed from a grim playbook, the aftermath tends to follow a hauntingly familiar script. Hasty arrests, publicised parading of suspects, weak court cases, dismissals for lack of evidence and, then, without fail, rearrests under dubious charges. The cycle has become all too predictable.

The Kagezi Conundrum

The 2015 assassination of Senior State Prosecutor Joan Kagezi, a woman once feared and respected for taking on terror and corruption cases, remains one of the most painful of these tragedies. Killed in the presence of her children as she returned home from work, Kagezi’s murder sent shockwaves across the country and the international community. Yet, years later, justice seems deliberately elusive.

Now, in a stunning twist, a self-confessed former army man and deserter, Daniel Kisseka Kiwanuka, has controversially pleaded guilty to Kagezi’s killing. But far from bringing clarity, his confession has only deepened the intrigue. According to Kiwanuka, the assassination was orchestrated by a government official known only asNickson, a name he claims to have learned while negotiating a USD200,000 fee for Kagezi’s life. He says they were instead paid a pittance of 500,000 Ugandan shillings each! For starters, this is less than USD150 at the time.

More shocking, perhaps to some, is the government’s response. Instead of treating Kiwanuka as a convicted murderer, they’ve turned him into the star witness in the prosecution of his former co-accused. This has left legal analysts and civil rights observers asking! Was Kiwanuka planted among the accused to extract confessions or information? Was his guilty plea a ruse to control the narrative? Well, its called pre-bargain.

“Nixon”: The Name That Rings But Never With Answers

Despite implicating a government official, Kiwanuka has mysteriously failed to offer Nickson’s second name or details that could make prosecution possible. He even claims to have met Nickson in a government vehicle at Katwe, yet again, he doesn’t say which ministry or agency the car belonged to.

The deliberate vagueness is telling. In a country where vehicles are registered and government departments are not hard to trace, such omissions raise red flags. Why would someone so willing to confess to murder be unwilling to provide enough information to lead to the arrest of the purported mastermind? Some analysts suspect that the name “Nixon” (By the way, we chose to spell his name as Nixon) whispered in connection with other unresolved high-profile killings, may have been intentionally floated to pacify public outrage. “The state might be dangling a convenient scapegoat to give the appearance of progress,” said a former CID officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

From Kagezi to Kaweesi

The questions surrounding the Kagezi case evoke memories of other unsolved murders, such as the 2017 daylight killing of former Deputy IGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi, his driver and bodyguard. The killers escaped on police-issue motorcycles, later, reportedly found parked inside Kampala Central Police Station, a chilling fact that suggested inside complicity.

Then-IGP Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura dismissed the idea that the killing was an inside job. But for many Ugandans, it was impossible to ignore the glaring inconsistencies, and the fact that no one up the chain has ever been seriously investigated.

Arrests, Release and Brocken Justice Chain

Time and again, suspects in such cases are released for `lack of evidence,` only to be re-arrested, often without fresh charges or new investigations. These re-arrests appear less like pursuit of justice and more like attempts to silence and contain. In many cases, suspects are held incommunicado for years without trial, an affront to human rights and due process.

SO, WHO REALLY KILLED JOAN KAGEZI?

Kiwanuka’s confession, while dramatic, is fraught with inconsistencies and selective memory. Could he be lying? Possibly. Could he be protecting powerful interests? Likely. Or perhaps he is simply a pawn in a much larger, sinister game of state-managed coverups! Well, police has since zeroed on Nixon Agasiirwe, the notorious former special ops Cop. In these lines lie stories of Nixon`s vices, and which we shall be reproducing one at a go.

And the man “Nickson”? Even if his identity is an open secret in certain circles, any effort to bring him to justice could easily be derailed by clever lawyers,“Is my client the only Nickson in Uganda?”they might ask — and win. In the final analysis, it’s becoming disturbingly clear that Uganda may never know the true masterminds behind these assassinations. For every fall guy presented to the courts, there seems to be a deeper truth buried under layers of deception, misdirection, and impunity. The bloodstains of the past remain vivid. But justice, it seems, continues to fade into the shadows.

Author Profile

Stephen Kasozi Muwambi: Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]