Govt gives ex-Supreme Court judge Kanyeihamba official burial, gun salutes

KAMPALA - Fallen former Supreme Court justice George Kanyeihamba will receive gun salutes during his burial on July 29, 2025, Minister for the Presidency Babirye Milly Babalanda has revealed.

The minister says the Uganda Police Force has been directed to oversee all the official burial ceremonies, including the gun salute at the burial.

Babalanda says President Yoweri Museveni, in line with Article 99 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended, which vests Executive Authority of Uganda in the President, directed that Kanyeihamba be accorded an official burial.

She has, therefore, encouraged the neighbourhood to remain calm during the gun salute.
According to Babalanda, the Government will provide security at all venues.

“All security agencies have been duly briefed and key deployments have been undertaken at all venues to secure both life and property of all mourners,” she said.

Kanyeihamba, who was scheduled to celebrate his 86th birthday on August 11, 2025, passed on at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala on Monday last week, after battling for his life for the last eight years.

Funeral programme

According to the Judiciary's statement released on July 22, Kanyeihamba will be buried at his home in Buziga after a funeral service at Kabojja International School Grounds.

A day before the burial, there will be a church service for the late at All Saints Cathedral in the morning and an official vigil at Kabojja International School, Buziga at 3:00pm.

On Friday, July 25 at 3:00pm, there will be private prayers and paying of tributes to the deceased at his home in Buziga.

However, today, Wednesday, the Judiciary is scheduled to hold a special sitting at 2:00pm to pay tribute to the late Kanyeihamba. The Special Supreme Court session will be held at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala.

The minister says the Government commiserates with Kanyeihamba’s family, legal and academic fraternity, the Banyakigezi as well as the rest of Ugandans on the passing away of an illustrious legal icon; and a politician who held several high positions both in the academic, legal and political arena.

“He will be deeply missed not only by those who knew him, worked with him, were led by him, but also by those who had a legal as well as academic and political career to learn from him.” 

The minister says Kanyeihamba contributed a lot to academia in Uganda where he taught law at Makerere University from 1990 to 1998 and the Uganda Christian University from 2003 to 2010.

She also said Kanyeihamba was a pioneer chancellor of Kabale University (2002-2015) and oversaw a transition from a private university to a fully-fledged public university. During the same period, he was chancellor at Kampala International University.