Uganda holds suspect in top prosecutor assassination

Kampala (AFP) - Police in Uganda said Thursday they have arrested a man suspected of involvement in the assassination of a top prosecutor engaged in high-profile cases including the trial of alleged bombers from Somalia's Shebab Islamist group.

Joan Kagezi, Uganda's acting assistant director of public prosecution, was murdered by men on a motorbike in late March.

She had been closely connected to 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 and which left 76 people dead -- although police have said they are yet to determine if the murder was linked to that case.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said the unidentified suspect, who was arrested in Kasese in the west of the country, fit the image of a man in an artist's impression of a killer.

"It's not yet confirmed that this is the prime suspect, investigations are still ongoing," he told AFP.

Kagezi, a lead prosecutor in the bombing trial, also led the prosecution's anti-terrorism and war crimes section -- doubtless earning her countless enemies.

Uganda is a key contributor to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which was established to fight the Shebab and protect the internationally recognised government, and the Islamists continue to target Uganda and other countries in the region.

The 2010 suicide bombings targeted football fans watching the World Cup final at a restaurant and a rugby club in Kampala.