KAMPALA.
Fallen Supreme Court Judge George Wilson Kanyeihamba was treated to a six-gun salute as he was being laid to rest at his home in Buziga, a posh Kampala suburb, on Tuesday .
It was his wish to be buried in Kampala ,against the usual tradition of taking senior citizens to their ancestral homes upcountry .
Justice Kanyeihamba’s body was lowered into the grave shortly after 3pm, with the day’s proceedings being relayed live to the people of his ancestral village in Rubanda District, who were unable to travel to Kampala.
Earlier, a grand funeral service was held at the neighbouring Kabojja International School playground since his home couldn’t accommodate the hundreds of mourners. From the playground, his remains were accompanied by a police band to his home, which is a stone’s throw away, for burial.
The roads leading to his home were temporarily closed to general traffic to allow the uninterrupted movement of the body from the Kabojja International School playground to his home. The funeral service was conducted on a sunny and windy mid-morning into the afternoon.
Several eulogies were made during the funeral service, including by two former prime ministers, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda and Mr Patrick Amama Mbabazi. In his eulogy, Dr Rugunda said Kanyeihamba was an exceptional person who managed to befriend both the Opposition politicians and President Museveni.
“Kanyeihamba was a close friend of Yoweri Museveni, but he was also a close friend of the Opposition leaders in this country. Kanyeihamba used this relationship of intimacy with government and the Opposition to endeavour to open channels of communication that would ensure peace, stability, and development in our country,” Dr Rugunda told the mourners amid applause.
In the 2006 presidential election petition, Justice Kanyeihamba was one of the three justices who ruled that the re-election of President Museveni was fraudulent enough to be nullified. Upon retirement in 2009, Justice Kanyeihamba was seen hobnobbing with top Opposition leaders, including Dr Kizza Besigye.
In the later years, the jurist was seen in the company of Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, and even confessed how, if given an opportunity, he could vote for Bobi Wine as his next President. Bobi Wine and a couple of other Opposition politicians also attended the burial ceremony yesterday.
Before joining the Bench, Prof Kanyeihamba was a minister for Justice and Attorney General in the Museveni government. President Museveni, in his eulogy read out by Information Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, praised the late jurist for his support in the liberation struggle.
“His writings, landmark judgments over the years, are a great treasure to the present and future generations. I salute Prof Kanyeihamba’s contribution during the 1981-86 war, which salvaged Uganda from state collapse.
He was part of our external committee that was mobilising support from the diaspora,” President Museveni said. He added: “Eventually, when the NRA captured power, he served the government as the minister, and at one time, he also represented Rubanda in the Parliament.
Therefore, we are not only mourning the death of Prof Kanyeihamba, but we are also celebrating his great legacy, which must be carried forward by his children, grandchildren, and his former students and admirers. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
On the controversial decision to bury Justice Kanyeihamba in Kampala as opposed to his ancestral home in Rubanda, Dr Rugunda told the mourners that some issues arose, but with the intervention of President Museveni, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), and the Buganda Kingdom, his wish was honoured.
“His Highness has sent a message of condolence and also given permission to bury him at his home. There were issues, and yet George did say he wanted to rest permanently at his home (Buziga, Kampala home).
But this required a few issues to be sorted out, and I’m glad that the Kabaka, the central government, and the KCCA were able to smoothly get this sorted out,” he said. Weighing in on the same controversial subject of burying Kanyeihamba in the city, his daughter, Sarah Kwezi Kanyeihamba, said her father served the whole country, not just Rubanda, so it was okay to bury him where he wished.
His son Joel Kanyeihamba reminisced about the greatness of his father, before expressing fear of how he would fit into the big shoes he has left behind.
“There is a lot of pressure to fill these enormous shoes, but what we got from our father is his foundation,” he said. Other mourners who eulogised Justice Kanyeihamba were his longest-time friend of 75 years, Mr Mathew Rukikaire, Prof Mondo Kangonyera, Odrek Rwabogo, and Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo.
The Chief Justice, in his eulogy, described Justice Kanyeihamba as a “scholar and a prolific writer” who had a strong art of judgment writing”. “The Judiciary is proud of him and will forever remember him,” CJ Dollo said. In a related development, the Prime Minister of Buganda Kingdom, Mr Peter Mayiga, had, the day before (Monday), hailed the late jurist for his unwavering passion for the rule of law throughout his career.