Uganda’s former Attorney General, Prof Kiddu Makubuya has died at 75 years. He served as Uganda’s Attorney General between 2005 and 2011, breathed his last in the wee hours of Monday morning according to family sources.
The former minister and MP for Katikamu South Constituency had been battling an illness for a while until Sunday evening when his health condition deteriorated.
Born on July 30, 1949, Makubuya held a First-Class Honors Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University, which he obtained in 1974.
He also held a Master of Laws degree and a Doctor of Juridical Science, both from Yale Law School and obtained in 1976 and 1979 respectively.
On returning to Uganda, he joined the Law Development Center where he completed his Diploma in Legal Practice between 1981 and 1982. He enrolled as an advocate of the Uganda High Court in 1985.
Makubuya worked as a special assistant at the faculty of law, at Makerere University, in 1974 and 1975. In 1979, he was promoted to lecturer at the same university, a position he held until 1982 when he became a senior lecturer.
In 1984, he was promoted to associate professor. He was also a partner in a private law firm, Kasolo & Khiddu Advocates.
Makubuya was a member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission, which was instrumental in drafting the 1995 Constitution of Uganda.
He was a member of the Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights. Between 1984 and 1987, he was the editor-in-chief of the Uganda Law Society Review.
He once headed the Department of Law and Jurisprudence at the faculty of law, at Makerere University, until 1995, when he was appointed director of the Uganda Human Rights and Peace Center.
After joining politics in the late 1980s he was elected Member of Parliament for Katikamu South Constituency in 1996.
He was later appointed State Minister for Luwero Triangle in the Office of the President. In 1998 his office as Minister of State in charge of Luwero Triangle was transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister.
In the same year, he was appointed State Minister for Foreign Affairs (International Cooperation), a portfolio he held until April 5, 1999, when he was appointed Minister of Education and Sports.
He served as Uganda’s Justice Minister and Attorney General, from January 14, 2005, until May 27, 2011, when he assumed the position of Minister for General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister.
The former minister and MP resigned from cabinet in February 2012 amid allegations of misappropriation of government funds.
Preparations for his burial are underway, and further details are expected to be released soon. As Uganda mourns the loss of this remarkable individual, his family, friends, and colleagues remember his dedication, expertise, and commitment to public service.
