Gen. Kayihura’s Man Nixon Agasirwe Implicated in Kidnap, Murder of Muyenga Eritrean Tycoon and Theft of Shs 8 Billion

Crime investigators interrogating Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nixon Agasirwe over the assassination of former Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, the late Joan Namazi Kagazi, have broadened the scope of their investigations. The probe now includes the kidnap and gruesome murder of Eritrean tycoon Daniel Weldu Okba Michael, who was abducted in Muyenga, Kampala, and later killed on the Kenyan side of the Busia border in 2016.

Daniel Weldu, the proprietor of Amma Company Limited, was kidnapped from his office in Bugolobi on October 27, 2016, by a group of city thugs led by a court ex-convict identified as Kazahura. The operation was carried out with the help of security operatives from both the police and the army. Weldu’s body was later discovered dumped and decomposing on the Kenyan side of the border.

Investigators have uncovered that the plan involved city lawyers and banking staff who had discovered that the Horn of Africa investor had billions of shillings in various bank accounts. These lawyers collaborated with the assassins and bank employees to fraudulently secure a court order signed by a chief magistrate in Kampala (name withheld), allowing the transfer of Weldu’s funds after his abduction.

After Weldu was kidnapped, Kazahura allegedly handed him over to Nixon Agasirwe. At gunpoint, the businessman was forced to sign documents authorizing the transfer of his funds from various accounts. Agasirwe, operating from his Kololo-based Special Operations Unit, used these lawyers to liaise with the implicated magistrate, who signed off on court orders directing banks to transfer Weldu’s money into accounts held by a city law firm (names withheld).

Once the documents were signed under duress, Weldu was transported at night through the Busia border by a UPDF captain, Hakim Mangeni, along with other operatives from Agasirwe’s Special Operations Unit, in coordination with immigration officers. On crossing the border, the operatives instructed Weldu to continue to Kenya and proceed to Eritrea. However, during a struggle, one of the operatives shot him dead. His body was abandoned in a thicket on the Kenyan side, where it was later discovered in a decomposing state.

Following his disappearance, Weldu’s family and the head of the Eritrean mission in Kampala petitioned President Museveni, after police investigations into the missing person case were reportedly being mishandled and obstructed. As a result, President Museveni directed the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) to take over the investigations.

Using phone tracking technology, CMI operatives traced Weldu’s last known phone signals to Agasirwe’s Special Operations Unit in Kololo. During a search of the SOU offices, Weldu’s girlfriend identified a shirt belonging to him—last seen worn on the day of his disappearance.

When Gen. Kale Kayihura, the then Inspector General of Police, discovered that one of his trusted officers was implicated, he moved swiftly to dismantle the Joint Operation Center in Nalufenya, where Agasirwe had been operating. He replaced it with the Flying Squad and deployed an elite police commando unit to secure the facility, where investigators believed crucial evidence was stored.

In retaliation, Agasirwe allegedly dispatched a hit team that assassinated two police officers guarding the facility at night. In response, police arrested ten operatives from the disbanded Joint Operations Center in connection with the killings. Interrogations revealed detailed accounts of the planning and execution of the murders.

Further investigations led to the arrest of several individuals, including UPDF Captain Hakim Mangeni (who was later convicted and sentenced to Luzira Prison), Ben Lumu, Lucy Katuramu, Stanbic Bank employee Ruth Akullo, and Christopher Kusera.

Agasirwe and his team of rogue officers were reportedly running a racket within financial institutions, where they conspired with bank officials to identify clients with large account balances, kidnap them, and forcefully transfer their funds.

Despite overwhelming evidence linking him to the kidnapping and murder of Weldu, Nixon Agasirwe was never arrested or formally questioned.

Who is Nixon Agasirwe?

Nixon Agasirwe, a former police informant, rose rapidly through the police ranks—from Assistant Superintendent to Senior Superintendent of Police—during Gen. Kale Kayihura’s reign, despite never undergoing formal police cadet training.

Originally a hardcore criminal arrested by military intelligence, Agasirwe later collaborated with police, leveraging his deep knowledge of Kampala’s criminal underworld. He began his law enforcement career with the notorious Wembley Unit under Kayanja, later moving to the Rapid Response Unit. When that unit was disbanded, Agasirwe formed Gen. Kayihura’s parallel Special Operations Unit, initially based in Nalufenya, Jinja, before relocating to Kololo, Kampala.

His Wealth

Agasirwe is considered one of the wealthiest rogue officers in Uganda, with an estimated fortune in the billions of shillings. Before his first arrest on treason charges, he reportedly owned nearly 100 commuter taxis operating across towns such as Mbarara, Kabale, Bushenyi, Rukungiri, Kasese, and Fort Portal. He also owns several multimillion-shilling buildings in Kampala and its outskirts.