KAMPALA, UGANDA — The sun has set on a towering figure of Uganda’s intellectual and judicial landscape. Justice Professor George Wilson Kanyeihamba, one of the most principled and unflinching defenders of justice in East Africa, passed away last night in Kampala at the age of 85. His departure marks the end of an era defined by fearless integrity, judicial courage, and an unwavering commitment to truth in the face of repression.
More than just a legal scholar, Prof. Kanyeihamba was a statesman whose moral compass never wavered, even in the stormiest political climates. With a doctorate in law from the University of Warwick and a mind honed by decades of public service, he stood tall against tyranny, most memorably in 2006, when, alongside two fellow Supreme Court Justices, he ruled to annul a presidential election marred by fraud, intimidation, and bribery. It was a bold and solitary stand in a region where dissent is often met with silence, or punishment.
His home was a classroom of living memory. Friends, former students, and political leaders recall visits that stretched far beyond their scheduled time, enchanted by his encyclopedic recall of Uganda’s legal and political history. “A one-hour visit would turn into four,” Opposition Leader Joel Ssenyonyi reminisced, “because he was not just telling us stories, he was handing down the soul of a nation.”
Justice Kanyeihamba’s voice reverberated far beyond the courtroom. Whether through his prolific writing, his lectures, or his impassioned media commentary, he remained a consistent critic of authoritarianism. To many, especially Uganda’s youth, he was more than a judge; he was a torchbearer of possibility, a living testament that one could be both a public intellectual and a warrior for freedom.
In a statement soaked with sorrow and reverence, opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, declared, “We have lost a treasure. Uganda is losing its good men while evil ones continue to live long.” His words capture a national grief that is not only about death, but about the kind of life that is so rare in the corridors of power, one of uncompromising principle.
As Uganda bids farewell to a national conscience, the challenge now falls to those left behind: to raise their voices where his once thundered, to speak truth where silence is demanded, and to honour his legacy not only in memory, but in action. Justice Kanyeihamba ran his race, and ran it with fire in his heart and truth on his lips.
May the gavel now rest. May his truth echo on.
Courtesy Photo
