The targeted killing of Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese physician and honorary Afghan citizen, remains unsolved and the perpetrators have yet to be held accountable.  

Nakamura, who was given the nickname of “Kaka Murad” by the Afghans, dedicated his life to implementing major aid projects in Afghanistan.  

He was killed at age 73 in a targeted attack on December 4, 2019, in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.

Nakamura worked on development projects in the east of Afghanistan. One of his biggest projects was the 24 km canal that irrigates thousands of acres in Nangarhar.

Ghulam Khan, 45, who spent a long time with Nakamura, is now taking care of the canal.  

“No one has worked in Afghanistan so much as Kaka Murad (Nakamura),” he said.  

Nakamura led construction on over ten small and large dams to irrigate agricultural land in the eastern provinces. He formed five hospitals, a park, and a mosque in Nangarhar.  

“This area was an empty desert. There were no green areas. This is all here now from Kaka Murad's (Nakamura) efforts” said Gul Ameen, a farmer.   

The people in Nangarhar praised his services and called on the government to hunt down his killers.  

The Islamic Emirate called Nakamura a benevolent and decent human and pledged to prosecute the perpetrators.  

“We will investigate the mysterious killing of Nakamura to find his murderers,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, a member of the cultural commission.  

Former Nangarhar governor Shah Mahmood Miakhail said that Nakamura was killed by Pakistani nationals, one of whom was killed and one who returned to Pakistan.