Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nixon Agasirwe Karuhanga has been remanded to Luzira Prison on charges related to the 2015 assassination of Senior State Prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
Agasirwe, the former commander of the Police Special Operations Unit, appeared before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court on Monday, June 16, 2025. He was formally charged but did not take a plea, as magistrate courts lack jurisdiction over capital offenses such as murder.
Chief Magistrate Esther Nyadoi emphasized the court’s limited role at this stage.
“This court has no jurisdiction to entertain your matter. You are only here to have the charge read to you,” she stated.
Agasirwe, who appeared without legal counsel, asked the court to delay the proceedings until his lawyer arrived, claiming late notification. The magistrate acknowledged his right to legal representation but denied the request, upholding the remand.
State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka informed the court that investigations were still underway and requested additional time to finalize inquiries. The magistrate granted the request and remanded Agasirwe to Luzira until July 8, 2025, when the case will return for mention.
Prosecutors allege that Agasirwe and accomplices—still at large—planned and executed the fatal shooting of Joan Kagezi on March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, Nakawa Division.
A key witness, Daniel Kisekka, a convicted UPDF deserter currently serving a 35-year sentence for the murder, previously testified that a man he identified as “Nixon” had ordered the hit. According to Kisekka, the motive was linked to Kagezi’s involvement in prosecuting suspects in the 2010 Kampala bombings.
Kagezi was gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailants while driving home, a killing that shocked Uganda’s legal and security establishment due to her prominent role in high-profile terrorism cases.
This is Agasirwe’s second remand to Luzira Prison. In 2017, he was charged before the General Court Martial with illegal possession of grenades and the unlawful repatriation of Rwandan refugees.
