Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Kenneth Kakuru has passed on.
He passed away at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday morning.
Kakuru, an outspoken judge known for his vigorous defence of civil liberties, recently applied for early retirement due to ill health.
The 65-year-old judge wrote a dissenting judgment in the ‘age limit case’ which saw the Constitutional Court uphold Parliament’s decision to remove the presidential limit of 75 years, allowing President Museveni to seek his 6th term in office.
“There is always danger that if the constitution is not strictly complied with, our hard-earned democracy shall degenerate into authoritarianism which leads to totalitarianism and dictatorship,” said Justice Kenneth Kakuru, who was the only dissenting judge on the issue of lifting the age limit.
“The entire constitutional amendment act … is unconstitutional and therefore null and void, and all its provisions ought to be expunged from the constitution of Uganda.”
Ugandans hailed Justice Kakuru as a hero.
Justice Kakuru was born in Uganda and attended local schools for his primary and secondary school education.
He studied law at Makerere University, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. Later, he graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) degree, also from Makerere University.
His Diploma in Legal Practice was obtained from the Law Development Centre, in Kampala, Uganda’s capital and largest city. He also holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Educational Policy Planning and Development, awarded by Kyambogo University.
He established a reputation as an environmental rights attorney and an expert in public interest litigation.
He was appointed a justice of the Court of Appeal in 2013.
Kakuru married the late Winnie Ikiriza Kakuru on September 12, 1987 and together they had three children, Sama, Tracy and Rose. Ikiriza died in 2009.
On January 14, 2012, he married Charity Nankunda Kakuru.
Prior to joining the bench, in 1987 Justice Kakuru, who specialized in public interest litigation, together with other senior lawyers established a law firm, Kakuru & Company Advocates, based in Kampala.
He founded and by the time of his death, Kakuru was a non-executive director of Greenwatch Uganda, an environmental advocacy whose mission is to promote public participation in protection and managing of the environment.
Kakuru was an associate professor at the Uganda Pentecostal University and an external examiner at the Law Development Centre in Kampala.
Justice Kakuru was a member of the Uganda Law Society, the East African Law Society, and the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide among other Law.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
