CID boss to Museveni: We now know funders of Kagezi killers

The head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), AIGP Maj Tom Magambo, has told President Museveni that he knows the financiers of the killers of prosecutor Joan Kagezi.

Maj Magambo said as security, they will soon meet the head of state to brief him about who exactly masterminded Kagezi’s shooting on March 30, 2015.

“Your Excellency, since you were the chief investigator (in the Kagezi case), I was the ground operator. I want to assure you that we have very good leads on the people who paid these people [the suspects now before the court] and sent them,”Maj Magambo said yesterday at the 7th Joan Kagezi Memorial Lecture in Kampala where the President was the chief guest.

He added: “…Your Excellency, as usual, we are going to brief you. I’m worried since the Chief Justice is saying these are suspects; we shall discuss and you guide us on how to proceed but we now know them (the financiers).”
Maj Magambo’s response followed Mr Museveni’s quesion on how far the security team had gone with the Kagezi murder case.
“But our friend Magambo…you remember these people [the suspects now in court] were saying they were sent by some people. Have you got the ones that sent them? Who sent the suspects, tell us please because the suspects were saying they were hired,” Mr Museveni said.

The President had earlier in his remarks said the killers of Kagezi miscalculated, reasoning that those who had sent them had been bombed and the majority killed in the process.
“…These suspects thought they were smart but they miscalculated and now, we have them and then the group that sent them from Congo, I can assure you, many of these people, have died, we killed them,” he said.

Also in his remarks, the President lauded the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for always remembering the good works of Kagezi who was killed in the line of duty.
He revealed that the government has been supporting Kagezi’s four children, with the older two, who were present at the function, saying they have graduated from prestigious universities in the United Kingdom and South Africa respectively, and are gainfully employed.
The remaining two, according to the family members, are currently pursuing their undergraduate degrees in Canada.

Support to Kagezi family
“Kagezi died a freedom fighter… but also the struggle to support the children of freedom fighters so that they don’t say, ‘if my father had not died if my mother had not died, we would have done this, we would have done that.’ When a freedom fighter dies, you who are behind should take control of their children so that they succeed,” Mr Museveni said.

In her remarks, the DPP, Justice Jane Frances Abodo, applauded the President for ensuring that their salaries are no longer taxed, and also appreciated the Shs250m that he put into their Sacco to enable access to soft loans to develop themselves.

She also revealed that they are prosecuting more cases following the recruitment of more than 100 state attorneys last year.
However, DPP Abodo cited understaffing, saying they need more than 455 prosecutors to efficiently support sister institutions such as the police and Judiciary. The other challenge she highlighted was their security since they handle sensitive cases and also challenges associated with land justice.

“The ODPP currently has 405 prosecutors, we are present in 95 districts but we have no office presence in 34 districts,” the DPP said.
But in response, the President said they should prioritise on what to spend on given the limited resource envelope. 

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who also graced the event, promised that the House will support the DPP to do her constitutional work.
However, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo cautioned the speakers of the day to be mindful and refer to the four people arrested in connection with Kagezi’s murder as suspects.

Background
 Kagezi, then assistant DPP, was gunned down in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb, on March 30, 2015, by unknown assassins riding on a boda boda, as she returned home.
Ms Kagezi had just made a stopover at a fruit stall.
At the time, Ms Kagezi was prosecuting a high-profile case of terrorism that involved suspects in the 2010 Kampala twin bombing.
Four people have since been arrested in connection with her murder and they await their trial before court.