Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Benedicto Kiwanuka
1922 – 1972
Uganda's first prime minister, and a chief justice murdered for a ruling
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Why they are here
The first Ugandan to head a government of Uganda, and later the country's first African chief justice. He ordered the release of a man Idi Amin's soldiers were holding illegally, and was dragged from his own courtroom and killed.
Benedicto Kiwanuka served in the King's African Rifles, read law in Britain, and came back to lead the Democratic Party. In 1961 he became chief minister and then, in 1962, the first prime minister of Uganda — the first Ugandan to head a government of the country — though he lost office to Milton Obote's coalition within months of independence.
He spent much of the 1960s in detention under Obote. When Idi Amin took power in 1971 he appointed Kiwanuka chief justice, the first African to hold the office.
Kiwanuka took the job literally. He granted habeas corpus to a British businessman held without charge by the military, and ordered his release, directly against Amin's security men. On 21 September 1972 soldiers walked into the High Court in Kampala, took him from his chambers in front of witnesses, and drove him away. He was never seen again. His body has never been found. Uganda's law courts keep the day as a memorial and there is a statue of him outside the High Court.
He spent much of the 1960s in detention under Obote. When Idi Amin took power in 1971 he appointed Kiwanuka chief justice, the first African to hold the office.
Kiwanuka took the job literally. He granted habeas corpus to a British businessman held without charge by the military, and ordered his release, directly against Amin's security men. On 21 September 1972 soldiers walked into the High Court in Kampala, took him from his chambers in front of witnesses, and drove him away. He was never seen again. His body has never been found. Uganda's law courts keep the day as a memorial and there is a statue of him outside the High Court.
- Wikipedia — Benedicto Kiwanuka
- Daily Monitor — The abduction and murder of Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka
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