By Andrew Irumba
Kampala: Justice Bart Magunda Katureebe, who was the Chief Justice of Uganda, has Friday June 19, 2020, announced his retirement, after the expiry of his tenure.
The announcement came just few hours into Katureebe’s 70th birthday, which is today Saturday June, 20th, 2020 as he tendered in his retirement notice from office before the appointing authority, and announcing his retirement from active legal practice.
We have since established that since he is in his evening years, Justice Katureebe informed President Yoweri Museven about his intentions to retire, although he still has matter to undertake in the Supreme Court, which will hopefully be concluded by the end of this year.
Who Is Justice Katureebe:
Justice Bart Magunda Katureebe was born on June 20, 1950 to Yowana Magunda and Virginia Engoni in Rugazi village, Rubirizi District.
The 70-year-old began his primary education at Rugazi Primary School in 1957 till 1962. He then went to St Joseph’s Junior Secondary School in Mbarara for his Junior One and Junior Two education.
Katureebe thereafte joined Kitunga High School for his Ordinary Level from 1965-1968, after which he went to Namilyango College for his Advanced Level education where he completed in 1970.
Thereafter, he joined Makerere University where he successfully pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Laws and graduated in 1974. A year later, he graduated with a Post-graduate Diploma in Legal practice from the Law Development Centre (LDC).
He immediately joined the Justice Ministry as a state attorney. In 1983, he left government service and joined private practice. Five years later, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Regional Corporation, a docket he held for a short while before being appointed Deputy Minister for Industry and Technology.
Between 1991 and 1992, he was again appointed to another docket as the Health Minister and at the same time, he was a member of the NRC. Then between 1994 and 1995, he was a Member of the Constituent Assembly representing Bunyaruguru County in Rubirizi District.
In 1996, he took on the docket of Justice Minister and at the same time, he was the Attorney General, until 2001. During his tenure as the Attorney General, he represented Uganda at the International Criminal Court of Justice at the Hague in a case where Uganda was accused of plundering the natural resources from DR Congo.
He rejoined private practice shortly after 2001 and worked with one of the prominent law firms in the city, Kampala Associated Advocates. It was from there that President Museveni appointed him the Supreme Court judge in July 2005, a position he held until he was appointed Uganda’s Chief Justice on the 5th March, 2015.
Other responsibilities he held include; Board Chairman for the state owned newspaper, The New Vision, Director of Standard Chartered Bank and also Director National Insurance Company (NIC).
Katureebe has since left President Museveni with a task of hunting for a substantial replacement, although his deputy Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo currently holds the office of the Chief Justice.
