Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has praised former state prosecutor, Joan Kagezi as a beacon of justice, a guardian of rule of law and a fearless warrior who diligently handled very serious cases before her assassination in 2015.
At the time of her death, Kagezi was the lead prosecutor of the suspects of the 2010 twin bombings in Kampala.
“Joan Kagezi was not just a prosecutor; she was a beacon of justice, a guardian of the rule of law, and a fearless warrior in the battle against transnational organized crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking, and the smuggling of migrants; challenges that Uganda continues to face,” Among said.
Speaker Among made the remarks during the Seventh memorial lecture in honour of the former acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which was presided over by President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday, 25 April 2024 at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
She urged President Museveni to support proposals by arms of government to enhance their budgets, to facilitate smooth running of the government.
“Your Excellency, you, being the finance minister of this country, it’s just prudent enough that you find it necessary to support the Judiciary and Office of DPP. If we support all other arms of government, then running this country will be easy and effective,” she said.
In an affirmative response, Museveni said he will ensure that all heads of arms of government are actively involved in the budgeting processes.
“When we are budgeting, I will invite the Speaker and the Chief Justice so that we budget together because there is nothing to hide,” he said before paying tribute to late Kagezi as a freedom fighter who died on duty. He said government has duly taken care of Kagezi’s children and ensured they get quality education.
“It is not good to have a culture of forgetting people, that is why it is good to organize these annual memorial lectures…Kagezi died as a freedom fighter and so, we need to support children of freedom fighters. When a freedom fighter dies, you, who is left behind must take care of the children so that they succeed,” Museveni said.
He assured the public that government is avenging the death of Kagezi and that the people behind her death were arrested.
This was confirmed by the Head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, AIGP Maj. Tom Magambo who said that the financiers of Kagezi’s killers are now known.
“I want to assure you that we have good leads on the people who paid these people [suspected killers in court] … As usual, we are going to brief you,” Magambo said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Jane Frances Abodo described the late Kagezi as an ideal prosecutor who mentored all of them and was instrumental in setting up the International Crime Division.
On the other hand, the Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny Dollo underscored the need to strengthen the justice system, including the investigative capacity in order to handle transnational crimes which he said, have become extremely complicated and sophisticated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“There is need to strengthen the investigative, prosecuting and adjudicatory capacity in this country so that these acts of terrorism, trafficking, etc are quickly and effectively investigated. That is the only way we can make Uganda a no-go area for transnational crimes. If not, we shall turn out to be a bee hive for such activities,” he said.
This year’s Joan Kagezi memorial lecture was celebrated under the theme, “Prosecution of transnational organised crimes to foster security and socio-economic development: the linkage between terrorism, human trafficking, and smuggling of migrants.”
