Prime
How security arrested police chief Agasirwe
Col Ndahura Atwooki, a former director of Crime Intelligence at Uganda Police Force (left) engages SSP Nixon Agasirwe (right) after charges they had faced since August 2018 were dropped against them at the General
Court Martial in Kampala last year. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Detectives say SSP Agasirwe was arrested to assist police in investigations regarding the murder of Senior State Prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nickson Agasirwe Karuhanga, the former commandant of the Police Special Operations Unit, has been arrested to help the police with investigations into the murder of Senior State Prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
Senior police officers confirmed the holding of SSP Agasirwe and added that they have since handed him to Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), formerly Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, to be interviewed regarding Kagezi’s murder.
“The arresting team was told to arrest and report SSP Agasirwe to the directorate of Criminal investigations before AIGP Tom Magambo who is spearheading the investigation,” a source said. Another source said SSP Agasirwe is at DIS for safe custody. The police spokesperson, Mr Kituuma Rusoke, couldn’t confirm the holding of their officer, SSP Agasirwe.
“I have not got any official communication from my bosses regarding the arrest of SSP Nixon as of now, that’s all I can say,” ACP Rusoke said. Kagezi was gunned down by unknown assailants on March 30, 2015, in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb, on her way home. SSP Agasirwe’s arrest comes at the time when the High Court is hearing the murder case of Kagezi.
One of the State witnesses, Daniel Kiwanuka Kisekka, a Uganda Peoples’’ Defence Forces (UPDF) deserter, who was convicted on his guilty plea of killing Kagezi, told court on Tuesday that the man whom he identified only as Nixon ordered the assassination of the deceased. The full identity of the Nixon he talked about is yet to be fully disclosed. However, under cross-examination by defence lawyer Elizabeth Nampola, Kisekka disclosed that Kibuuka informed him the person who paid for the mission was known only as Nixon.
Kisekka stated that he had never met Nixon but had seen him meeting Kibuuka at Kalerwe two days before the murder. According to Kisekka, Nixon was driving a government vehicle. Security Sources close to this investigation informed this publication that following what transpired from the court proceedings, a special joint security task force was created and tasked to arrest SSP Agasirwe without fail.
The sources added that the arresting team comprised police flying squad operatives, Joint Anti-terrorism operatives, Special Force Command operatives, and detectives from CID headquarters Kibuli. This publication could not independently verify with AIGP Magambo for extra information regarding the progress of the investigation because he had not answered calls to his known phone numbers by press time.
However, a police detective informed this publication that SSP Agasirwe was arrested on the night of Wednesday, brought to CID headquarters, where he was taken to DIS, formerly CMI, detention centre in Mbuya. “SSP Agasirwe was arrested. We now know the killers but we want to know who gave them the job, he will be helping us in the investigation,” a detective said.
Previous Arrest
SSP Nixon Agasirwe was previously arrested in October 2017 and appeared in the military court on February 13, 2018 over unlawful possession of ammunition, failure to protect war materials, aiding and abetting kidnap. He was charged with his former boss, Gen Edward Kale Kayihura, the former Inspector General of Police, and ten others.
They were also accused of having aided and abetted the actions of subordinate police officers and kidnapped and illegally repatriated Rwandan exiles, refugees and Ugandan citizens to Rwanda including Lt Joel Mutabazi, a former bodyguard of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Jackson Karemera alias Odinga and Sargent Innocent Kalisa.
However, after securing court bail, the Military General Court Martial dropped the charges against him and his co-accused. SSP Agasirwe had, not however, been deployed by the time of his arrest this week.
