By Aggrey Baba
It will take time for Uganda to come to terms with the recent passing of Justice Professor George Wilson Kanyeihamba, a towering figure in the legal and political landscape for over four decades.
He was a man of sharp intellect, fierce independence, and unshakable belief in the rule of law, qualities that earned him both high office and eventual political isolation.
From his early role in post-Amin governments to his critical support for the NRA struggle and his later service in M7’s cabinet and Supreme Court, the fallen legal giant’s journey tells a broader story, of how a patriot’s service can be honoured, used, and then cast aside.
Kanyeihamba first joined government in 1979 as Attorney General under President Yusuf Lule after the fall of Idi Amin. However, when Lule was removed after just two months, the new president, Godfrey Binaisa, replaced him (Kanyeihamba) with another lawyer, Stephen Amoding Ariko, a decision which shocked and disappointed Kanyeihamba.
Feeling betrayed he left Uganda and moved to the United Kingdom, where he resumed his academic career and began lecturing law in Wales. While there, he turned to human rights activism, founding the Uganda Group for Human Rights, a platform he used to expose the abuses committed by Obote’s second government and later by Gen. Tito Okello’s military junta.
He wrote reports and letters to European governments and international organisations, alerting them to extrajudicial killings, torture, and repression ba k home. While others took up guns, Kanyeihamba fought with his pen, becoming one of the international voices that helped win sympathy for Yoweri M7’s National Resistance Army (NRA) rebellion.
His alliance with M7’s external supporters like Eriya Kategaya and Prof. Lule helped form the political foundations of what would later become the NRM.
When M7 captured power in 1986, Kanyeihamba returned to Uganda and was appointed Minister for Commerce. Later, in 1988, he was named Attorney General, a position, in which Kanyeihamba played a key role in legitimising the NRM government, including drafting the law that extended its rule beyond the initial four-year transition period.
He was later appointed Presidential Advisor on Human Rights, and eventually to the Supreme Court of Uganda, where his sharp legal mind shone, becoming known for his clear, independent rulings, even when they challenged powerful interests.
Kanyeihamba and M7 were not just allies during the bush war period but close collaborators, proof they shared a long political history.
However, their relationship grew strained over time. Kanyeihamba, always outspoken, often criticised M7 government’s drift away from constitutionalism and its growing intolerance of dissent.
In 2006, during an NRM retreat, President M7 labelled Kanyeihamba and Prof. Joe Oloka-Onyango as “agents of disorientation.” Kanyeihamba responded firmly, saying: “I will criticise you when you do wrong, and I will praise you when you do right,” an exchange which marked a turning point.
Though still respected in legal circles, Kanyeihamba increasingly became a government outsider, seen as unpredictable and politically inconvenient. His political career came to an unusual end in the early 2000s.
He was reportedly asked by President M7 not to contest again, and instead appointed to the Supreme Court. Behind this request was an unspoken factor, of religious balancing in the Kigezi region, where Kanyeihamba came from. As an Anglican, his continued leadership reportedly risked upsetting delicate religious sensitivities in the largely Catholic Rubanda area.
Kanyeihamba’s work went far beyond politics. As chairperson of the legal committee during the 1994 Constituent Assembly, he played a lead role in shaping Uganda’s 1995 Constitution, later saying he regretted not pushing harder to entrench presidential term limits, a clause he believed could have saved the country from political stagnation.
Even in retirement, Kanyeihamba remained active, publishing books, giving interviews, and speaking out against corruption, abuse of office, and the weakening of the judiciary. He often warned that the country was straying from the democratic principles the Constitution was built on.
His death marks the passing of one of Uganda’s most fearless and principled public figures. While his later years were marked by political isolation, his contributions to law, justice, and the shaping of modern Uganda are undeniable. He worked closely with M7 disagreed with him openly, and still served his country with dignity. He was not perfect, but he was brave.
As Uganda reflects on his life, one clear thing is that Kanyeihamba stood for what he believed in, even when it cost him. And in a country where silence often pays, that alone makes him extraordinary.
May his soul rest in eternal peace, and his legacy continue to challenge, inspire, and guide.
