The High Court in Kampala has adjourned proceedings in the case against four suspects accused of murdering former senior principal state attorney Joan Kagezi in 2015.
This was after the two defence lawyers declined instructions to represent the suspects, citing conflicts of interest. The suspects include Daniel Kisekka Kiwanuka, a peasant farmer and charcoal burner from Kayunga district; John Kibuuka, also known as Musa, an inmate at Kigo prison; Nasur Abdallah Mugonole, an inmate at Kitalya Mini Max prison, Wakiso district; and John Masajjage, also known as Mubiru Brian or Chongo, who is also held at Kitalya prison.
Assistant director of public prosecutions (DPP) Lino Anguzu informed the court on Monday that defence attorneys Sylvia Namawejje and Ali Hassan Kato had withdrawn from the case, citing a conflict of interest. Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha ordered the deputy registrar of the International Crimes Court (ICC) of the High Court to appoint new lawyers promptly.
The prosecution’s evidence links the suspects to Kagezi’s murder and alleges the accused engaged in ritual practices to evade capture. According to records, Kibuuka was apprehended shortly after the murder in 2015, while Masajjage, implicated by Kibuuka, was detained in 2023 after evading authorities for eight years.
The prosecution further alleges that Masajjage boasted about the murder, purportedly organised in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The motive behind Kagezi’s murder, according to the DPP, involved attempts to intimidate the government and public for political, religious, and economic gains.
The suspects, remanded amid tight security, are due back in court on December 9, 2024, as the DPP prepares to apply for witness protection measures.
