The Gavel That Roared: Honouring Justice Kanyeihamba’s Legacy.

Today, the earth has tilted; a mighty tree has fallen. Professor Dr. George Wilson Kanyeihamba jurist, scholar, patriot, and conscience of the nation has laid down his robes. Uganda, Africa, and the world have lost not just a man, but a living institution. Kanyeihamba has exited the stage. But not quietly. The heavens must have trembled as they received the soul of one of Africa’s fiercest defenders of truth. His passing is loss to every soul that still dares to believe in the rule of law, in constitutionalism, in the power of dissent. Every Ugandan lawyer or law student knows the name Kanyeihamba not by force, but by sheer reverence.

He was the last of eleven children born not into privilege, but into promise. In the hills of present-day Kanungu District, a boy named George Wilson Kanyeihamba entered the world without a silver spoon, no ceremonial parade, no inherited name just raw brilliance and relentless fire. From Hamurwa Church School to Nyaruhanga Anglican Primary, Nyakatare to Kigezi High School, Kanyeihamba climbed rung after rung of a broken colonial ladder, not with handouts but with unbending will. By the time he reached Busoga College Mwiri, he was not just another student, he was a mind already preparing to wrestle with empires.

And then he soared across seas. Norwich City College. Portsmouth College. England the very heart of the colonial mind unknowingly became the finishing school for the Ugandan boy who would one day tear apart legal dogmas they had imposed. So when Cardiff University appointed him lecturer for twelve years, and later Coventry, they weren’t doing him a favour. They were preserving excellence. He wasn’t a token African; he was the kind of legal mind that makes even the Queen’s bench take notes. While Ugandan elites scrambled for titles and tea with politicians, Kanyeihamba was shaping legal discourse in Europe, writing books, and educating a generation of thinkers.

When a fragile Uganda attempted to stitch together a soul torn by tyranny, into this delicate interregnum stepped the UNLF administration, led by President Yusuf Lule, and among its intellectual pillars stood Professor George Wilson Kanyeihamba, appointed Attorney General. This cabinet was arguably the most academically and professionally qualified in Uganda’s post-independence history. But, as Uganda has often proven, intellect is rarely the currency of survival in politics, sycophancy is.

The writing was already on the wall. As the Lule administration began asserting its constitutional footing, threats brewed within and beyond Uganda’s borders. When Nyerere summoned the cabinet to Mwanza in 1979, the tone was clear: this wasn’t a negotiation, it was a curtain call. There, in a politically choreographed meeting, the anti-Lule faction, led by Ejalu and Paulo Mwanga, unleashed a premeditated tirade to remove Lule and bring back Milton Obote. They accused Lule of tearing apart the sacred “understanding” forged between Obote and Nyerere.

When it was Kanyeihamba’s turn to speak, he did not tremble. He did not fumble. He did not pretend to be impressed by Nyerere’s aura. He stood, not just as Lule’s minister, but as the legal conscience of a wounded country. He rejected the bitter submissions of Ejalu and Mwanga, arguing that there was immense goodwill within Uganda and that, with Tanzanian support, the UNLF could rebuild the nation. “Our main problem stems from the fact that whereas many of the Front’s leaders believed honestly that the country should, for the time being, be governed by the duly established Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, there were others who believed that the Constitution had been overtaken by events and replaced by the Moshi Unity Conference Constitution.” He said.

In short, he reminded them that liberation is not license, that once the guns are silent, the law must speak. And then came the moment of intellectual tragedy. Nyerere, visibly rattled, cut him short: “These matters are political, not legal.” There it was, the smirk of power. The admission that reason had no seat at this table. That constitutions were merely ornamental when emperors-in-waiting made decisions in darkened corridors.

Humiliated but unbroken, Kanyeihamba and fellow statesmen Prof. Edward Rugumayo, Dr. Arnold Bisase, Atema Allimadi, and Yoweri Museveni returned home and made a defiant pact: Obote would not return to power through ministerial backdoor deals. They were ready to fight, not with arms, but with principle. But history doesn’t always reward the noble. Within weeks, Nyerere and the anti-Lule faction orchestrated Lule’s removal, unceremoniously tossing him aside like a failed experiment. No elections. No consultations. Just raw betrayal. Kanyeihamba and several ministers fled into exile, the cost of speaking truth in a country still allergic to accountability.

Following the fraudulent 1980 elections that returned Obote to power, Kanyeihamba joined the external wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in London, where his role was far from ceremonial. Tasked with high-level legal and strategic assignments, he became a pivotal figure in the intellectual front of the Ugandan liberation struggle. Alongside other exiled patriots, he established and edited a number of influential publications and underground articles that exposed the UPC regime’s brutality and rallied international sympathy for the NRM cause. More than just a penman, he amongst others also helped mobilize logistical resources for fighters back home. His influence reached the very top of British power; he met with the British Prime Minister in Cardiff and briefed him on Uganda’s political crisis, and also held talks with Margaret Thatcher, then Leader of the Opposition. It was clear: while others were ducking for cover, Kanyeihamba was building bridges, shaping narratives, and fighting a dictatorship; one article, one meeting, and one moral conviction at a time.

He was also a quiet force in high-stakes political diplomacy. He accompanied former President Yusuf Lule to a critical eight-hour closed-door meeting in Nairobi, convened to mediate growing tensions between Yoweri Museveni and Andrew Kayiira, whose respective armed factions, the NRA and UFM had joined forces to overthrow the Obote regime. At a time when egos and ambitions threatened to derail a united front, Kanyeihamba’s presence brought legal clarity and moral gravity to the table. His involvement wasn’t about choosing sides; it was about preserving the integrity of the struggle, reminding all present that liberation without cohesion was simply rebellion without a future.

Following the funeral of Yusuf Lule in London, Professor Kanyeihamba once again found himself at the heart of Uganda’s liberation crossroads. At a discreet yet decisive meeting held at the residence of John Bageire in North Finchley London, a critical decision had to be made: who would assume leadership of the National Resistance Movement after Lule’s passing? It was in that room, surrounded by exiled patriots, that Kanyeihamba and others supported the selection of Yoweri Museveni over Dr. Samson Kisseka to become the overall leader of the NRM. The moment was more than a vote, it was the forging of a new chapter in Uganda’s resistance politics, and Kanyeihamba, true to form, aligned himself with the vision he believed held the greatest promise for constitutionalism, discipline, and the long-term liberation of Uganda.

In 1983, Professor Kanyeihamba emerged as a powerful voice for political transformation on the international stage. He was invited to a series of high-level conferences across Europe, notably in Stockholm and Uppsala where he passionately and unapologetically expressed overwhelming support for the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Kanyeihamba used every podium to articulate the moral and political legitimacy of the NRM’s cause. His speeches, deeply rooted in law, justice, and human rights, elevated the Ugandan struggle from a regional rebellion to a legitimate global concern. He wasn’t just advocating for regime change he was demanding a rebirth of the Ugandan state grounded in dignity, democracy, and constitutional order.

In 1985, the UPC government, desperate to sanitize its image before the international community, persuaded the World Bank to finance and organize a conference in Denmark, ostensibly on governance and economic recovery in Uganda. But behind the diplomatic gloss, the real intention was clear: to rubber-stamp and legitimize Obote’s crumbling regime. Kanyeihamba, alongside Ambassador Ssempebwa, quickly uncovered the ploy. Refusing to play along, the two mounted a strategic intellectual resistance. With precision and audacity, they exposed the UPC government for what it truly was, a regime that had killed its citizens, tortured dissidents, detained opponents without trial, and presided over the systematic destruction of Uganda’s infrastructure and institutions. Their intervention did more than ruffle feathers, it shifted policy. The World Bank, awakened by the brutal truth, changed its tone, strategy, and future engagements with Uganda. It was a masterstroke of diplomatic defiance, one that proved the pen, when wielded by the righteous, could shake even the most insulated powers.

By this time, Kanyeihamba had firmly established himself as a renowned political commentator on African political and constitutional affairs, his insights sought after across continents. Recognizing the urgent need to educate future generations on the principles that underpin just societies, he partnered with Professor Phil Thomas to found and teach a groundbreaking course at the University of Wales: Civil Liberties and International Human Rights. This pioneering program not only reflected Kanyeihamba’s deep commitment to justice and human dignity but also marked a vital contribution to global legal education, equipping students with the tools to challenge oppression and defend the rights of the marginalized across Africa and beyond.

Appointed Minister of Commerce by the newly installed President Museveni in 1986, Professor Kanyeihamba wasted no time in transforming a traditionally lax ministry by introducing and instilling a culture of punctuality and discipline, values often ignored but essential for effective governance. His commitment to professionalism and integrity soon earned him a promotion to Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, a role in which he consistently demonstrated unwavering dedication to upholding the rule of law. Throughout his tenure, Kanyeihamba was a formidable fighter against corruption, refusing to tolerate the very rot that had long undermined Uganda’s institutions. In a political environment where compromise often meant complicity, he stood firm as a beacon of accountability and reform.

A dedicated peacemaker, Professor Kanyeihamba was entrusted with the delicate and volatile task of resolving deep-rooted conflicts within Uganda’s Muslim community. When tensions erupted between the traditional Muslim leadership and the younger, more radical Tabliq faction who had forcefully occupied the headquarters of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, leading to the tragic shooting and death of four of their members, Kanyeihamba stepped in as a mediator. His approach combined legal wisdom with profound empathy, seeking not only to quell violence but to restore dialogue and unity among a fractured community. In a landscape too often marred by division, his commitment to peace was a testament to his broader vision: that justice is inseparable from reconciliation.

In the wake of the contentious ranch controversy, Professor Kanyeihamba and Professor Mondo found themselves reshuffled, a political move aimed at sidelining their principled stand. Both had boldly counseled that owners of ranches facing compulsory land acquisition deserved fair compensation, a position rooted in justice and respect for property rights. Their stance, however, clashed with powerful interests unwilling to acknowledge such fairness. Despite this, Kanyeihamba’s integrity could not be ignored; he was subsequently appointed as Uganda’s first-ever Senior Presidential Advisor, a role that recognized his expertise and moral authority even as the political winds shifted around him. This appointment underscored his enduring influence and the respect he commanded, even amid controversy.

Professor Kanyeihamba’s appointment to the Supreme Court marked the culmination of a distinguished legal career defined by unwavering commitment to justice and integrity. Beyond his judicial duties, he took on critical extra-judicial responsibilities, notably serving as chairperson of both the Ethics and Integrity Committees. In these roles, he championed reforms that elevated the judiciary’s independence and dignity most notably spearheading the successful campaign to exempt judges from paying taxes on their salaries and allowances.

In the landmark 2006 election petition, Professor Kanyeihamba stood apart as a courageous dissenting judge, boldly ruling in favour of the petitioner, Dr. Kizza Besigye, whom he believed had legitimately won the election. This was no mere legal opinion; it was a powerful statement against a system many perceived as compromised. His conviction only deepened years later, after being briefed by the Obasanjo Commission, when he publicly asserted on multiple occasions that Besigye had also won the contested 2016 elections. Kanyeihamba’s unwavering stance showcased his unflinching commitment to truth and electoral justice, even when it meant opposing the prevailing political tides and risking personal and professional backlash.

In the twilight of his life, Professor Kanyeihamba did not retreat into silence or complacency. Instead, he became one of the most vocal and unrelenting critics of President Museveni’s government, openly denouncing its pervasive corruption and crippling inefficiency. Unafraid of reprisal, he wielded his legal expertise and moral authority to hold power to account, reminding the nation and the world that true leadership demands transparency, accountability, and service to the people. His fearless critiques served as a beacon of conscience in a political landscape too often clouded by complacency and compromise.

Professor Kanyeihamba has not died. He has multiplied. He lives in every fearless judge.
He breathes in every dissenting voice. He walks the corridors of every law school where students whisper his name with pride.