By Our Reporter
Once feared and revered as Uganda’s ‘super cop,’ Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nixon Agasirwe has been remanded to Luzira Upper Prison in a stunning twist of fate — this time for the 2015 assassination of top state prosecutor Joan Kagezi, a murder that shook Uganda’s legal system to its core.
Appearing in Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court on Monday, June 16, 2025, a visibly tense Agasirwe stood in the dock alone, with no lawyer by his side. He was charged with murder, accused of orchestrating the fatal shooting of Kagezi in Kiwatule, Kampala nearly a decade ago — a case long surrounded by mystery and conspiracy theories.
“This court has no jurisdiction to entertain your matter. You are only here to have the charge read to you,” declared Chief Magistrate Esther Nyadoi, as she denied him the opportunity to take plea, which will instead be heard by the High Court.
Despite his plea to postpone the reading until his lawyer could be present, the magistrate ruled firmly that “the right to legal counsel remains intact,” and proceeded to remand him until July 8. Until then, he will remain behind bars at Luzira — a place he once sent others to as Uganda’s head of Police Special Operations.
Prosecution told court that Agasirwe, with others still at large, planned and executed the assassination of Kagezi with malice aforethought, citing a chilling testimony from UPDF deserter Daniel Kisekka.
Kisekka, currently serving 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder, shocked the International Crimes Division of the High Court in May when he directly named “Nixon” — allegedly Agasirwe — as the man who ordered and financed the hit using a government vehicle. The motive? Kagezi’s firm stance in prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases involving Muslim suspects.
Joan Kagezi was gunned down on the evening of March 30, 2015, while driving home with her children. Trailed by gunmen on a boda boda, she was fatally shot — just months into handling the prosecution of suspects behind the 2010 Kampala twin bombings, which claimed over 70 lives during a World Cup final screening.
Her assassination sent shockwaves across the nation, as Uganda’s legal fraternity mourned the loss of one of its brightest and most courageous minds.
This isn’t Agasirwe’s first time facing the walls of Luzira. In 2017, he was detained over illegal repatriation of Rwandan nationals and unlawful possession of weapons, a case that dragged on with political undercurrents involving his former boss, ex-IGP Gen. Kale Kayihura.
Now, the stakes are even higher. Agasirwe is not just accused of misconduct — but murder, in one of the most politically sensitive assassinations in recent Ugandan history.
As the prosecution races to complete investigations and transfer the case to the High Court, all eyes are now fixed on what could become the trial of the decade.