Justice Kakuru who gained fame for his dissenting judgment in the ‘age limit case’, has been on the appellate court’s bench since 2013 when he was tapped from private practice.
Court of Appeal Justice Kenneth Kakuru has died at the age of 65, Judiciary spokesperson Jamson Karemani has confirmed.
He had been admitted to Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for stage four prostate cancer.
The outspoken judge, had in 2021 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,” he then told in an interview.
Justice Kakuru who gained fame for his dissenting judgment in the ‘age limit case’, has been on the appellate court’s bench since 2013 when he was tapped from private practice.
In the aforementioned case, Justice Kakuru was the only one of five judges to rule that the amendment of the Constitution in 2017 to remove lower and upper age limits for presidential and local government candidates was done illegally.
He based his ruling on a number of factors, but especially on what he called lack of consultation of the public during the process of the amendment.
The four who dismissed the petition against the amendment were Mr Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, then Deputy Chief Justice and now Chief Justice, Justice Remmy Kasule, Justice Elizabeth Musoke, and Justice Cheborion Barishaki.
Background
Before joining the Judiciary, Justice Kakuru practised law through his firm, Kakuru and Company Advocates, and distinguished himself as an environmental rights attorney and an expert in public interest litigation.
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.
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