Ministers struggle to explain prosecutor Kagezi’s killing

PARLIAMENT.

Government ministers yesterday strained to explain the circumstances that saw Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi gunned down in cold blood, with the Internal Affairs minister branding it a “security lapse” while the Justice minister said the judicial officer “misjudged the situation”.

The ministers gave conflicting accounts as government sought to stem the tide of growing criticism over why a prosecutor, who was leading the State’s case in the high profile trial of suspects in the 2010 terror bombings, which claimed 76 lives in Kampala, and the recent murders in Busoga sub-region, was not provided with round-the-clock security.

Justice minister Kahinda Otafiire told journalists at Parliament that in the wake of the killing of Kagezi, the government will now provide “robust protection” for judicial officers involved in sensitive cases.

“We considered protecting people who have these cases but she misjudged the situation and got involved in these tragic events. They wanted to intimidate us but we are going to prepare robust protection,” Maj Gen Otafiire said.

His colleague at Internal Affairs, Gen Aronda Nyakairima, later told journalists also at Parliament that Kagezi had directed security personnel assigned to her to stay behind, exposing herself to the gunmen who shot her.

“This is just a security lapse. Just like someone would say; ‘let me go to church. I want to go to church alone; you soldiers or police people stay’. Since 2011, I am made to understand, she had been given guards but this time she chose to drive herself alone with her kids. Maybe she wanted to have some conversations with the kids [and] as she stopped by the food stall her life was taken,” Gen Nyakairima said.

Gen Nyakairima will today present to Parliament an elaborate account detailing how Kagezi met her death. At the time of the shooting, the prosecutor, who was also acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, was driving her official car with two of her four children on board.

Yesterday, Parliament joined the chorus of criticism on the deteriorating security situation in the country, with the Deputy Speaker, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, putting the government on the spot for reportedly ignoring parliamentary recommendations touching on unresolved murders in the country.

Mr Oulanyah paid tribute to Kagezi as “one of the shining prosecutors in the country”, noting that the manner in which she was gunned down is concerning to the country.

“The circumstances of her death is a matter of concern to all Ugandans. Deaths have been happening and Parliament has made recommendations and they (deaths) continue to happen. Tomorrow (today), we can have an insight about this very sad moment and we see how we can handle,” Mr Oulanyah said.

The Deputy Speaker told the House that Gen Nyakairima had requested him for time to give an account of the murder to Parliament yesterday but it is unclear why the General’s explanation was deferred to today. The Internal Affairs minister joined several top officials who visited the scene of the shooting yesterday.

Shadow internal affairs minister and Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi said the police, despite gobbling up millions in operational budgets, is still unable to get to the bottom of the spate of murders around the country.

Mr Kivumbi said the police were instead putting more energy in deploying on the streets.
“The death of Kagezi is not a one-off; it is becoming a trend in the country. Prominent citizens are being gunned down across the country. The style of their death is similar; you are approached by two or three people and as you disembark (from a car), you are gunned down. When you pass on the streets, there is heavy deployment,” Mr Kivumbi said.

PICTURES: Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi shot dead
Reporting by Solomon Arinaitwe, Yasiin Mugerwa and Nelson Wesonga