Court appoints Administrator General to manage tycoon Garuga’s estate

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The Family Division of the High Court in Kampala has appointed the Administrator General, Victor Manzi, to temporarily manage the estate of tycoon James Garuga Musinguzi pending determination of the family dispute over its management.

This is after the court dismissed an application by his son, Alwyn Musinguzi, in which he had sought joint temporary letters of administration together with other beneficiaries.

Musinguzi succumbed to cancer in August last year, but he left a number of properties which have become the centre of dispute among the beneficiaries. He was survived by one wife and four children, including Alwyn. 

Dismissing Alwyn’s application in a ruling dated February 20, 2026, High Court Judge John Eudes Keitirima cited the differences which have since developed among the beneficiaries on how the estate should be administered.

“Considering the circumstances of this case, I will appoint the Administrator General as the administrator pendente lite for the estate of the late Musinguzi James Garuga until the determination of Civil Suit 346 of 2025 involving the parties herein,” Justice Keitirima ruled.

Keitirima said for a person to be granted letters of administration pendente lite, such a person should be impartial with no conflict of interest in the dispute.

“The person should equally be competent to manage the estate and make decisions in the best interests of the beneficiaries,” Justice Keitirima said.

Citing the accusations and counteraccusations among the beneficiaries of the estate, Judge Keitirima said they cannot work in harmony to manage the estate and granting them temporary administration of the estate would instead cause a lot of disruptions and acrimony.

Justifying the appointment of the Administrator General to temporarily manage the estate, Justice Keitirima said there is need to preserve it to ensure that it is properly managed in the meantime as the court tries to resolve the disputes between the beneficiaries.

“Leaving the said estate without any administration would subject the estate to intermeddlers and would be prone to waste,” Justice Keitirima said.

Interim administration of a deceased person’s estate is provided for under section 214 of the Succession Act.

It is meant to preserve the estate assets, ensure continuity by managing estate affairs during court proceedings, safeguard the beneficiaries’ interests and allow the holder to handle urgent matters in the estate without prejudice, such as payment of school fees for the school-going beneficiaries.

The dispute over the management of the estate arose from an application for letters of administration filed by the widow, Peace Kesiime Musinguzi, to solely administer the estate of her late husband.

However, Alwyn has since filed an application challenging the grant of the letters of administration to his mother.

Alwyn, who has since lodged a caveat on some of the properties in the estate, claims that his mother fraudulently and grossly undervalued the estate and thus not fit and proper to manage the estate.

However, Kesiime maintains that she is the only surviving spouse of the late Garuga, and she is thus the only competent person who can manage the estate, having managed it alongside her husband since their marriage in 1980.

She argues that Alwyn’s claims are baseless, only intended to delay the proper administration of the estate.

Kesiime contends that Alwyn has already intermeddled with the estate property, and he is therefore unfit to administer the estate.

Other beneficiaries, including Rowena Musinguzi, Jonny Musinguzi and Philip Musinguzi, are in favour of their mother as the fit and proper person to manage the estate.

Alwyn claims that the estate exceeds sh1 trillion, contrary to what his mother states in her application for letters of administration.

He cites the properties to include a mansion in Mbuya valued at over sh6b, a 20-acre country home in Rugyeyo, Kanungu district, estimated at sh20b, more than 152 land titles under the Garuga Properties Limited, ranches in Ngoma and Kyankwanzi, shares in Kigezi Highland Tea Limited, Savanna Resort Hotel sitting on 35-acres in Kanungu district, among others.

However, Kesiime disputes the allegation,s stating that some of the listed companies by his son are separate legal entities that are not part of the estate.

Disputes over letters of administration constitute the majority of disputes before the family court.

According to the Judiciary National Court Case Census Report 2025, the Family Division of the High Court is grappling with a caseload of 12,624 cases.