Vale Professor George W Kanyeihamba, 1939-2025: Uganda mourns a ‘colossus’ of constitutional law and human rights

Uganda is mourning the loss of a giant of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law following the news that Professor George W Kanyeihamba, who was an architect of the country’s 1995 constitution, passed away in Kampala yesterday. 

A fearless voice for justice, Kanyeihamba served in the Ugandan government, the judiciary (including as a Justice of the Supreme Court), and academia, leaving an indelible mark, while also never shying away from criticising the institutions he was part of when they fell short regarding constitutional principles and the rule of law.

After serving as Minister of Justice and Attorney-General under President Yoweri Museveni's administration, Kanyeihamba was a Justice of Uganda’s Supreme Court from 1997 until 2009, when he reached 70 years old, the mandatory retirement age. 

Famously, he wrote a strongly dissenting opinion in 2006 when the Supreme Court failed to uphold a legal challenge to the President’s election for a third term. Justice Kanyeihamba called for a nullification of Museveni's re-election, due to massive irregularities. His dissent sparked national debate, and reinforced the judge’s reputation as a fearless defender of the Constitution and the rule of law. 

“That decision was unprecedented,” recalled Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, in a tribute after news of the judge’s passing broke. “He put principle above personal history. Despite having once served with Museveni, Kanyeihamba insisted the election was not free or fair… He exposed the behind-the-scenes pressures that influence landmark judgements. That takes rare courage and integrity.”

Kanyeihamba was a chair of the Legal Committee of the Constituent Assembly that created Uganda’s modern constitution in 1995, which established Uganda as a republic with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch; outlined separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary; and included a comprehensive bill of rights, guaranteeing fundamental freedoms and rights to all Ugandan citizens.

Born on 11 August 1939 in Kinaba, the youngest of eleven children, Kanyeihamba was educated at a variety of Ugandan church schools, before obtaining a law degree from Portsmouth University in the UK. He was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to the University of Warwick, where he obtained a PhD. 

He later held high office in all three branches of Uganda’s government - parliament, executive, judiciary - and fought for the rule of law and democratic principles throughout his career and life, embodying the concept of a distinguished jurist. 

In life, Kanyeihamba sought to uplift Uganda and bring people together under the banner of democracy, fairness, and justice. At a time when the Ugandan Law Society and the country’s judiciary are at odds, and where regional and international criticisms are rife of President Museveni’s increasingly authoritarian rule and weakened judicial oversight, Kanyeihamba’s death has united Uganda in grief, perhaps reminding everyone of the ideals to which the country aspires. 

Tributes have flowed from government and opposition, the legal profession and judiciary, even those who disagreed with Kanyeihamba or he criticised in the past. 

Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde, still in self-imposed exile after a controversial High Court judge ordered his arrest and imprisonment, called Professor Kanyeihamba “a colossus of the 1995 Constitution” who left a legacy that will inspire generations of lawyers and judges. “Let’s honour his memory by upholding the principles of truth and justice he relentlessly championed.”

Chief Justice Alfonse Owily-Dollo, who has fuelled escalating tensions between the ULS and the judiciary in recent months, described Kanyeihamba as a plain-speaking person who expressed himself without fear, and a jurist who never shied away from the truth, no matter the cost. Following his principled dissent in 2006, Kanyeihamba lost his post as judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Kampala Associated Advocates partner Elison Karuhanga, who visited the judge in hospital during his final days, recalled that Supreme Court on which Kanyeihamba had sat “carried the burden and the promise of a new Constitution, testing its limits, defining its soul, and giving shape to a fledgling republic’s legal identity”. Karuhanga remembered the judge as not only as a towering jurist, but a historian, a teacher of reluctant students, and a man whose stubbornness was rivalled only by his sense of justice. Humourous, but never unserious, always fair, and impossibly firm.

Along with his political and legal career, Kanyeihamba also lectured at universities in Uganda, and England and Wales. He was the author of many articles and several books, including Constitutional and Political History of Uganda: From 1894 to Present (2010) and The Blessings And Joy Of Being Who You Are (2012). 

His passing was marked by Ugandan government and opposition politicians alike. 

“Professor Kanyeihamba was a beacon of wisdom, resilience, and patriotism [whose] unwavering dedication to justice, nation-building, and mentorship left an indelible mark on Uganda,” shared Thomas Tayebwa, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, after the news broke. Tayebwa, a Makerere University law graduate, credited the retired judge’s wisdom and example for deeply enriching his own journey in public service.

“Through his writings, legislative influence, and decades of teaching, Professor Kanyeihamba fundamentally shaped our legal system and jurisprudence. His landmark judgments will continue to guide generations of legal minds and serve as a testament to his brilliance and unwavering commitment to justice.”

Lord Mayor Lukwago - who noted that even from a wheelchair in his final days Kanyeihamba was engaged in legal activism to challenge President Museveni’s abrogation of the Constitution - and others, including Kira Municipality MP, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, have called for a national, non-partisan honour for Professor George W Kanyeihamba that goes beyond a State House event.