Court of Appeal Judge Kenneth Kakuru was at the weekend laid to rest at his ancestral home in Rwebishuri Village, Mbarara City North Division amidst a heavy downpour.
The rains started shortly after the Church service at St James Cathedral, the seat of Ankore Diocese in Ruharo presided over by Dr. Sheldon Mwesigwa, the Bishop of Ankole Diocese. In attendance was His Grace Lambert Beinmugisha, the Archbishop of Mbarara Archdiocese though he did not make a speech.
Kakuru was hailed by those in government as well as the opposition for his Independent-minded judgments as well as his support for human rights. He is particularly remembered for having delivered a dissenting judgment against the lifting of age limits in the 1995 constitution.
Some had labelled Justice Kenneth Kakuru as one of the few judges that were sympathetic to the opposition. But Chief Justice, Alphonse Owiny-Dollo who represented the government refuted the claim, saying that the Judiciary has no opposition judges or NRM-leaning ones.
“Justice Kakuru was not an opposition judge but rather a Justice of the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court. That labeling is some people’s creation and I forgive them because they don’t know judicial work,” he said.
Justice Owiny-Dollo said that Kakuru was a very genuine person who was never arrogant but pleasant, caring, and loyal friend and never kept any grudge for long. He noted that if someone disrespected Justice Kakuru, it could have been a matter of communication.
The Deputy Chief Justice, Richard Buteera asked everyone to plant a tree in honor of the late Kakuru who he said taught many people environmental law that he practiced all through his life.
Alphonse Owiny-Dollo was also the Chief mourner representing the President. Also present were Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Principal, Judge Flavia Zeija, several Judges of the higher Bench, and Ministers and people from all walks of life.
Justice Kenneth Kakuru, 65 died on Tuesday at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya where he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Justice Kakuru was a non-executive director of the environmental group Green watch Uganda.
Many who had known him during the late 1990s remember that he was passionate about the environment and environmental law. The Bishops from the Greater Ankore Dioceses spoke greatly of fallen Kakuru whom they said lived, loved, advised, and worked for the church both as a Christian and also as the Chancellor or legal advisor of the Ankore Diocese.
The Bishops also asked leaders to emulate the late Kakuru and be mindful of what will be said of them when they die. The Bishops who spoke included, Stephen Namanya of North Ankole, Johnson Twinomujuni of West Ankole, Nathan Ahimbisibwe of South Ankore Diocese, and Dr. Sheldon Mwesigwa of Ankole Diocese who also led the service.
Charity Nankunda Kakuru, the wife of the late Kakuru promised to work hard to keep his legacy, which included giving awards to the best-performing students of Law and Theology at Bishop Stuart University. She praised the late as a jolly, loving, and caring husband that will be missed so much.
Speaker after Speaker appreciated the late Kakuru as an honest, humble, principled man who stood by his truth. Justice Kenneth Kakuru has served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Uganda, from May 2013 until his death in 2023.
He was also a co-director at his firm, Kakuru and Company Advocates, where his daughter Samantha Kakuru is a director. Kakuru during his career as an advocate, distinguished himself as an environmental rights lawyer. He has left behind a widow with six months old twins, four daughters, and g