By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
Famous justice Kenneth Tomanya Kakuru, who opposed the controversial presidential age limit removal has passed on.
According to the judiciary spokesperson, Jamson Karemani Justice Kakuru died at Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi where he had been on treatment for stage four prostate cancer. He has died at the age of 65.
Justice Kakuru’s name came into limelights following his dissenting judgement in the age limit case inwhich he ruled that the amendment of the Article 102b commonly known as T’ogikwatako to remove lower and upper caps age limit for the presidential and local government candidates was done illegally.
In his judgement, the outspoken justice said that there was lack of consultation of the public during the process of the amendment.
I declare that the entire constitutional amendment Act 1of 2018 is unconstitutional and therefore null and void. All its provisions ought to be expunged from the Constitution¶ Justice Kenneth Kakuru
Other justices who ruled in favour of dismissal of the petition against age limit amendment are Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, then Deputy Chief Justice and now Chief Justice, Justice Remmy Kasule, Justice Elizabeth Musoke, and Justice Cheborion Barishaki.
In 2021, he applied to retire seven years earlier due to a health condition he was dealing with.
“Yes it is true, I have applied for early retirement on account of health. I have been told that the management and treatment of this condition will go on for the rest of my life,” justice Kakuru said in an interview with the Daily Monitor
Emulate Justice Kenneth Kakuru, DP Women’s League President tells judicial officers
An environmental rights attorney and public interests litigator, Kakuru practiced through his firm of Kakuru and Company Advocates before joining the judiciary. He been on the appellate court’s bench since 2013 when he was appointed judge.
He held a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s of law from Makerere University, a post graduate diploma in legal practice from the Law Development Centre, and a master’s degree in educational policy, planning and development from Kyambogo University.
By the time of his death, he has been serving as a judge in the Court of Appeal. May His Soul Rest In Peace!
