The Joan Kagezi murder trial took a dramatic turn at the International Crimes Division (ICD) as a traditional healer and a pathologist gave contrasting testimonies. One recounted mystical rituals, while the other presented clinical evidence on the fatal gunshot wounds.
The court session was overseen by Justices Andrew Bashaija, Duncan Gaswaga, Joyce Kavuma, and Richard Wejuli. The prosecution included Assistant DPPs Lino Anguzu and Thomas Jatiko, alongside Senior State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka.
The 13th prosecution witness, 62-year-old former teacher turned traditional healer Francis Kaweesa Olowo, testified confidently. Currently held at Kigo Main Prison for an unrelated defilement charge, Olowo described how, in 2015, three strangers visited his Kayunga District shrine to “tie their case.” He identified one visitor as Daniel Kisekka.
Olowo explained, “I do a lot of work like treating sick people using traditional medicine, those seeking marriage, those who want to tie the case they committed, those who want to be cleansed of misfortunes and blessings.” He said the trio paid Shs200,000 before he conducted rituals using herbs, firewood, and a saucepan wrapped in black polythene. “We covered the saucepan with bricks, then returned to the shrine. They spent two hours at my place,” he told the court. Later, he identified the men in a police-led parade.
However, defence lawyer Elizabeth Nampola challenged Olowo on inconsistencies. She noted that he could not recall the suspects’ names, despite claiming he had written them in a book later destroyed by rats and termites. “You forgot the names you wrote, and you want the court to believe you identified them. Are you telling lies?” she asked.
Olowo insisted, “I am not telling lies. I tied their case, but it did not work because they did not tell me the details.”
The mood in court shifted when 67-year-old pathologist Dr William Male Mutumba presented his findings. “This is a report I authored in respect of Joan Namazzi Kagezi. The body was brought on March 30, 2015, and identified by her brother-in-law. She had gunshot wounds that caused her death,” he testified.
Dr Mutumba described bullets that entered her arm, shattered ribs, punctured lungs, and struck her neck, breaking cervical bones and damaging nerves. The court admitted his report, which included bullets, fragments, broken glass, blood swabs, and crime scene photographs.
As the two witnesses stepped down—one smiling and recounting mystical rituals, the other soberly presenting blood-soaked evidence—the trial continued. It highlighted a striking contrast between mysticism and science in the pursuit of justice for slain prosecutor Joan Kagezi.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kisekka is serving a 35-year jail term after admitting to Kagezi’s murder.