Uganda's Senior Principal Attorney Joan Kagezi who was killed on Monday
evening in Kiwatule, east of Kampala by unknown assailants on a
motorcycle. PHOTO | DAILY MONITOR |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By AFP
In Summary
- Kagezi had been due to appear in court Tuesday at the trial of 13 men accused of participating in the July 2010 bombings in Kampala which were claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants.
- Lawyers in court Tuesday were visibly emotional, saying they would meet later with judges to decide what will happen next with the trial, defence lawyer Yunusu Kasirivu said.
A key trial in Uganda of 13 men accused of
taking part in Al-Shabaab bombings that killed 76 people in 2010 was
postponed Tuesday after the top prosecutor was shot dead.
Police on Tuesday vowed to catch the killers of
Joan Kagezi, acting assistant director of public prosecution, who was
murdered by men on a motorbike as she drove home with three of her
children on Monday evening.
"Her death is a big loss to the country," Uganda's police chief Kale Kayihura said in a statement.
She was shot twice through the window of her car
after stopping to buy fruits on the side of the road in a suburb of the
capital Kampala.
"We call upon any member of the public who may
have any information relating to the murder of Joan to give it to the
police," Kayihura added.
"The murder of Joan Kagezi should only serve to
increase our resolve to hunt down and bring to justice all those
elements bent on disturbing the security and development of our
country."
Kagezi had been due to appear in court Tuesday at
the trial of 13 men accused of participating in the July 2010 bombings
in Kampala which were claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab
militants.
"The criminals riding on a motorcycle... stopped
next to the parked vehicle and shot her twice in the neck and shoulder,
through the widow on the driver's side," Kayihura added.
"Her three children who were with her escaped unhurt."
Lawyers in court Tuesday were visibly emotional,
saying they would meet later with judges to decide what will happen next
with the trial, defence lawyer Yunusu Kasirivu said.
The suspects did not appear in court.
Kasirivu told reporters he was "very upset" at Kagezi's death, saying she had been a close colleague for several years.
"She was a wonderful lady — very, very wonderful — hardworking, polite," he said.
"When you clash in court she will smile back, when you want to shut her down...she will answer you politely
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