Mulenga to be accorded official burial

By Jeff Andrew Lule and Hilary Nsambu  

The former Supreme Court Justice, Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga, is to get an official burial, Government has announced.

Mulenga, 74, died on Wednesday at Nakasero Hospital, Kampala after developing cancer-related complications.

According to Mary Karoro Okurut,the  Information and National Guidance minister, the casket bearing Mulenga's body will today lie in State at the Parliament and later legislators  will honour the former Attorney General.

Mulenga's body will later be taken to his residence, at Kimera road in a city suburb of Ntinda, where it will spend a night.

A requiem Mass will be held on Saturday at  Our Lady of Africa Church in Mbuya before cortege depart for his ancestral home in Mutolere, Kisoro, where it will be buried  on Sunday.

"As a person who has served this country in various capacities he deserves official burial," Karoro noted.

In her statement, she described the deceased as a true patriot who served Uganda in various capacities, notably Attorney General and Supreme Court Judge.

 "He will dearly be missed not only in Uganda where he had an illustrious career but the whole African legal fraternity where his amazing contribution has been felt.  Mulenga served his country with distinction and has left a huge legacy in the judicial fraternity, " she noted.

More eulogies
Foreign Affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, described his longtime friend and partner as a person who stood for the truth, and who would never condemn anyone without fair hearing.

Kutesa noted "I first knew him in 1972 when he had just started Iringira and Mulenga Co. Advocates. Later we worked together at Mulenga and Kalemera Co. Advocates since 1980-1989.  He was extremely reliable, professional and very acute as a lawyer. Mulenga was principled and always put his judicious neutrality with an incredibly superior temperate. He is an icon in legal and judicial system.

He identified himself as an international judge and he later became a judge at the African Court of Justice which was good for Uganda. I am happy that I nominated him."he notes.
 
Dr Philemon Mateke, the NRM chairman for Kisoro district and senior politician, said Mulenga was a unique judicial officer in the way he did his work.

"He was a celebrated lawyer in the country with uniqueness in his work. We both competed at the constituency level in 1980 and I defeated him. I was in Uganda People's Congress (UPC) and he was DP but we remained friends,"Mateke added.