Former Supreme Court judge and constitutional scholar, Prof George Wilson Kanyeihamba will be laid to rest next week on Tuesday, July 29.
Kanyeihamba, who died on July 15, at the age of 85 in Nakasero hospital, will be laid to rest at his home in Buziga, Kampala, after official and private events organised to honour his life and career.
According to the burial program released today, Tuesday, the series of tributes is intended to reflect the various roles he held in Uganda’s legal, academic, and public service sectors. The funeral program will commence on Wednesday, with a special tribute at the Supreme court in Kampala.
The judiciary is expected to recognise his contribution to the development of constitutional law in Uganda, particularly his role in the formulation of the 1995 Constitution and his tenure on the bench.
On Friday, the family will receive mourners at his residence beginning at 11 am, followed by a memorial service and tributes later that afternoon. These events will allow close friends, relatives, and former colleagues to reflect on his personal and professional life.
A church service will be held on Monday, at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala, starting at 9 a.m. Later the same day, an official vigil will take place at Kabojja International School in Buziga, where mourners from various sectors, including education, legal practice, and government, are expected to attend.
The final public ceremony will be held on Tuesday, at Kabojja grounds at 10 am, after which the burial will take place at his family home. Born in 1939 in Kinaba, Kinkizi district, Kanyeihamba held several positions in public life, including minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Attorney General, and later, justice of the Supreme court.
He also served on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and lectured in law at various universities. Kanyeihamba earned his law degree in the United Kingdom and obtained a PhD from the University of Warwick. He was also widely published in the fields of constitutional and human rights law.
His family, which flew into the country over the weekend from the United Kingdom, has since expressed appreciation for the support received from the public since his passing. Kanyeihamba’s burial will mark the end of a public life that spanned more than four decades, during which he participated in various legal and policy processes at national and continental levels.
Kanyeihamba’s body has been at A Plus Funeral Home, where it was taken after he succumbed to diabetes at Nakasero hospital, where he had been bedridden in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for more than a month.
