Kampala, Uganda: Retired Supreme Court judge and celebrated Ugandan legal scholar Prof. George Wilson Kanyeihamba has passed on. He was 85.
Family sources confirmed to the media on Monday morning that the outspoken legal luminary passed away at Nakasero Hospital, where he had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for an extended period.
“Yes, he is no more… he has gone,” Kanyeihamba’s long-serving personal assistant, identified only as Denis, said when asked if reports of his Principal’s passing were true.
Who was Kanyeihamba?
Prof. George Kanyeihamba, widely regarded as one of Uganda’s most principled legal minds, leaves behind an enduring legacy rooted in his fearless defense of constitutionalism, rule of law, and human rights.
Born on 11 August 1939 in Kinaba, Kinkizi District, Kigezi Region, Kanyeihamba was the last born and eleventh child of Zakaliya Bafwokworora and Kyenda Malyamu Kyakundwa. He attended Hamurwa Church School, Nyaruhanga Anglican Church Primary School, Nyakatare Church School, Kigezi High School, Busoga College Mwiri, and Norwich City College in the UK.
Kanyeihamba graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Portsmouth University In the 70’s, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
As a Justice of the Supreme Court and one of the key framers of the 1995 Constitution, Kanyeihamba’s judicial career was marked by a bold streak of independence, typified by his frequent dissenting judgments that championed civil liberties and legal ethics.
He was also a former Attorney General, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and Uganda’s representative at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
In academia, Prof. Kanyeihamba’s influence was equally far-reaching. He lectured law at Makerere University and authored widely respected texts on constitutional and international law, shaping generations of legal practitioners across Africa.
Kanyeihamba was one of the three Supreme Court justices who ruled that the re-election of President Museveni in 2006 was fraudulent enough to be nullified. He went on to lose his post as judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and commentators believe that his stand in that election petition cost him the job.
Even in retirement, he remained a fierce critic of injustice and a revered voice of conscience within Uganda’s civic and judicial circles.
His death signals the passing of a towering figure whose impact on Uganda’s legal and intellectual landscapes will be felt for generations.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be communicated by the family.
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