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A lawyer has petitioned the Constitutional Court seeking nullification of the new rules for the acquisition of letters of administration.

In his petition, Derrick Lufunya of Lufunya Associated Advocates contends that the new rules for acquiring letters of administration are likely to deprive people of their property because they block the issuance of letters of administration to estates that form part of the succession register.

Lufunya wants the Constitutional Court to find that the rules are contrary to Articles 8A, 20, 21, 26, and 45 of the Constitution as they may lead to the loss of property mostly land on the former blue pages which are under the succession register.

He says under the new rules, it becomes practically impossible to administer and distribute land on the former blue pages to the rightful beneficiaries. 

The Attorney General and Administrator General are listed as the respondents in the petition and are required to file their reply to the petition after being served with the petition.

Lufunya argues that the Attorney General’s letter dated September 22, 2023, to Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo on the fate of the succession registers and certificates of succession is not only irrational but also inconsistent with Articles 20, 26, and 31 of the Constitution in so far as it attempts to deprive beneficiaries to the estates that formally made up the succession register their rights to property and family heritage.

He argues that the Attorney General’s letter to the Judiciary recommending to the courts not to renew letters of administration of estates under the succession register is not only ultra vires but also a total disregard of the doctrine of separation of powers and the same violates Article 128 of the Constitution in so far as it attempts to direct independent courts on how to dispense justice to Ugandans who only seek to administer estates of their deceased relatives.

Lufunya contends that the omission of the Parliament while drafting the Local Government Act leaving out the succession registers and certificates which were formally governed under the 1912 Buganda succession law which responsibility was given to the Administrators (Performance of Functions) instrument statutory no. 150 of 1967 is not only illegal but also in contravention of Article 26 of the Constitution.

A recommendation letter dated September 22, 2023, by Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka over the matter was served to different authorities including the Chief Justice, lands ministry, justice minister, principal judge, deputy Attorney General, Solicitor General, IGP, deputy Solicitor General, Administrator General, Senior Technical Advisor, Justice Law and Order Sector, Katikkiro of Buganda, President Uganda Law Society and the Commissioner Legal Services, State House.

In it, the issuance of certificates of no objection and letters of administration about estates under Buganda’s succession law was canceled.

Renewal of letters of administration held by the Attorney General and private persons about estates under the succession register upon expiry as per the Succession Amendment Act, 2022 was also prohibited.

Profound consequences

According to Lufunya, the omission of the succession registers and certificates which were formerly governed under Buganda’s succession law has been maintained in the Local Government Act (As amended).

This Lufunya says has had profound consequences such as land grabbing, the backlog of judicial land cases, overlapping land titles, and ultimately stifled economic growth and locked out many beneficiaries from accessing their property.

Counsel Jonathan Kirumira contends with the essence of key stakeholders such as the Buganda Kingdom to assume the right position in the current land divide, further citing deliberate government decision to omit the succession registers in subsequent laws.

The Local Administrations Act, number 18 of 1967 was replaced by the Local Governments Act, Cap 243 and this never carried forward the matter regarding succession certificates.

In an affidavit in support of the petition, Ponsiano Kyebuzibwa, a resident of Kanyonyi town council in Gomba district argues that due to the passed recommendations, he cannot exert power over his property that amounts to 39 hectares of land he inherited from his father.

In Uganda, issues about succession are handled by the Administrator General, which is under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

What is the succession register

Succession Registers are records containing details of the Buganda deceased people’s estates including details of their property, distribution of the property, and the beneficiaries of the estates.

Upon the death of a person from the Buganda Kingdom, his or her Will was proved before the Clan that the deceased belonged.

If the deceased died intestate, his property would be distributed by the clan. Proceedings from the Clan would be forwarded to the Lukiiko for debate and approval. After approval, the reports of the proceeding from the Lukiiko were forwarded to the Kabaka for his assent.

Upon the Kabaka’s assent, the records would constitute the final distribution of an estate of a deceased Muganda.

The distributions assented to by the Kabaka would constitute a succession record referred to as a Succession Register.

To implement the details in a Succession Register, a beneficiary was issued a certificate of succession by the Lukiiko. The certificate of succession operated in the same way as a transfer of land.

The certificate of succession also had the same effect as a limited grant of letters of administration concerning that specific beneficial share of the deceased’s estate.

Following the abolition of the Buganda Kingdom in 1967, the Administrator General was given power to control the succession registers formally operated by the Kabaka’s government.

These relate to persons who died in the early 1940s to 1966 and had as a matter of requirement to register with the Kabaka’s government, their properties and dependant relatives, and how they wanted the same shared amongst their survivors upon their demise.