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✳ Court has set 6 conditions
1- To bury body in Fort Portal
2- This has to be done in 4 days from the day of ruling
3- To allow the family of Bob’s mother to bury
4- Police and LC system take charge
5- Each side takes care of their legal costs
6- Bob be given a decent burial
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Family Division of the High Court has ruled that lawyer Bob Kasango will be buried in Fort Portal in the next four days.
High Court Judge Lydia Mugambe Ssali made the ruling this afternoon, after Kasango’s widow Nice Bitarabeho filed the case seeking permission to bury the husband in Kabarole district, after contention with family members who wanted to bury him in Tororo.
READ THE FULL RULING HERE kasangofinal
“It is easy to discern in the circumstances of this case, that while the deceased can safely be buried in Tororo or Fort Portal, the deceased’s children have almost only their mother to look up to for their welfare. They have not bonded with the Tororo relatives,” Judge Lydia Mugambe ruled.
“As a nucleus family they are uncomfortable with the burial of the deceased in Tororo where they’ve never been. However, they’re comfortable and at peace with the burial on their family land in Fort Portal which they know as intended to be their family burial grounds.”
Justice Mugambe concluded that “It is also in the best interest of the children that the deceased is buried as soon as possible to avert the psychological torture they continue to suffer from the prevailing impasse.”
The applicant, Bitarabeho, was represented by Mujurizi Jamiru and Tumwesigye Hamphrey of M/s. Mujurizi, Alinaitwe & Byamukama Advocates and the Respondent represented by Odokel Opolot Deogratius and James Njogu of M/s. Odokel Opolot & Co. Advocates.
Kasango succumbed to heart-related complications while serving a 16-year jail term for theft of more than sh15 billion meant for pensioners.
The constitutional court recently also made a ruling on a case he had filed, questioning the legality of the DPP who was prosecuting his case. He argued it was unconstitutional for a serving judge to be DPP, and the court last week agreed with him.
After the fracas at the funeral service where the Tororo relatives momentarily took charge of the body and drove away, police intervened and the body was taken to a funeral service.
Kasango’s body has for three weeks been at A-Plus Funeral who charge a daily fee of Shs 250,000 to preserve it.
Details of Mugambe ruling
In her ruling on Friday Judge Lydia Mugambe explained her decision in detail. She said court had found out that the deceased’s wife and children have never been to Tororo; were taught or told northing about Tororo or Japadhola culture by the deceased and that they only knew or interacted with the Tororo relatives of the deceased at his behest.
“On the other hand, they have severally visited Fort Portal as their village; spent time there with the deceased; are aware that the deceased desired that Fort Portal be their country home and burial place and there is no dispute regarding the ownership of the Fort Portal land by the deceased and his family and its one-acre size is sufficient for burial grounds and a country home which were the deceased’s plans for and with his family.”
On the issue of who the deceased’s biological father is, court heard that his dad was a one Kasimo who was a musoga.
“Then there is no justification for Respondent to impose the Japadhola culture on the deceased or his family. The deceased’s mother’s love for the Japadhola culture is indisputable; it is the culture she’s grown up in and practiced even though she has Busoga ancestry. However this too does not justify her desire to impose it on the deceased especially when I consider the nature of relationship between her and the deceased in his life,” the judge conclued.
The family later said they would bury Kasango in in Gweri, Fort Portal City on Sunday.
READ THE FULL RULING HERE kasangofinal
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“Nice told the court that they had been allocated land in Fort Portal where Kasango wanted to be buried after denouncing his family.”
That is very illogical for the “wife” to claim that Kasango had denounced his family. She will soon get another man who has also “denounced” his family.
This case could be appealed. It is disgusting.
Based on what we now know about this case (if it is true) there is nothing baring the deceased from being buried in Tooro as opposed to Tororo; his own biological mother admitted in court that the Tororo burial grounds where she wanted to bury him are his STEP-father’s ancestral burial grounds and NOT his own biological father’s burial grounds. The deceased’s OWN biological father migrated away from his ancestral BUSOGA to BUGANDA and was buried there. IF this was a case of following established cultural rites of burying the deceased in his PATRIACAL ancestor’s cemetery, then WHY NOT bury him where his BIOLOGICAL father is buried? Why propose to bury him at his STEP-father’s cemetery in Tororo among the Jhapadhola of where he has no blood or biological ties? I do not know much about the Basoga, Japadhola or Batooro BUT among the Baganda (which no party is) the culture is that 1. Obukuliro tebuba buzaale (one does not claim heritage from a clan or place just because they were raised there-have to be REAL biological blood ties to make that claim). In Tororo, Kasango was a ‘mujjana nnyina” not a biological child. 2. Unlike a woman who belongs to either her father or her husband, a man can start a cemetery or burial ground (ekijjya) for himself and his lineage. 3. If Kasango is not buried directly on his in-laws’ burial ground but just in Tooro or even on the same village, there is no violation of cultural norms. The mother’s case was driven more by emotion and not much in the way of facts.
Natural justice must prevail. The mother must appeal the case. That is just the high court. What about the court of appeal? And the supreme court? The mother must get justice. This judge has been compromised by those gangsters, wife and Mwenda, because of Kasango’s money. They have now used fake power to deny the mother justice.
The children have an say in this; if I may stress, more say than even the mum. Kasango’s children have ever been to Tororo and do not want their dad burried there. Period!
Sid, whether the kids have or have not been to Tororo is not so much the case. It is whether the deceased has blood ties to Tororo that necessitate him to be buried there or not. His biological mother HERSELF admitted in court and under oath that Kasango’s father was a MUSOGA who MIGRATED to BULEMEZI where he is buried to this day. IF that is the case, then WHY insist on burying the deceased in Tororo where he has NO blood ties and where he has never staked a claim or invested? WHY? If the biological mother was arguing that the deceased should be buried at his biological father’s cemetery in Bulemezi, there I would say she has SOME sort of point, but Tororo among the Japhadola whom he has no blood ties to? They may have raised him but they are not his BLOOD relatives. The mother married in Tororo so if SHE wants, let HERself be buried in Tororo. But given what we have been told or what has been made public, there is NO compelling reason, traditionally, culturally, lawful, or otherwise that to bury the deceased in Tororo. And since the deceased died without making a known will, under the law, the next of kin who decides his last wishes is his legally wedded wife. His mother ceased to be his next of kin when he became of age and legally took a wife. People should know the law before they argue based on emotion. The mother’s lawyer should have advised the mother before going to court that her case had very limited merit given the circumstances.
Well the mother of the deceased needs psychological support, some times we misunderstand our parents, occasionally realizing that they meant well, way after they are long gone.
In her case she remains hurting with the memories; looking at her after the verdict, brings memories of many, whose fate was less traumatic yet their reaction culminated into undesirable outcome
The children have an say in this; if I may stress, more say than even the mum. Kasango’s children have ever been to Tororo and do not want their dad burried there. Period!
There is all the negative ethnicity in this. The grandmother of those children has already held her breasts and stomach and lamented if she did not carry Kasango for nine months in her womb or if he has never sucked those breasts. Unless they make peace with the grandmother the curse has been issued. The bible says that “a curse that is causeless shall not alight.” But here there is a cause. So unless that family makes peace with this elder woman they will have no peace. And misfortunes will follow them wherever they go from a spiritual viewpoint.
@Observer. Be informed that even Kasango’s wife is not a Mutoro. She’s a Mukiga whose mother, a Mutoro, buried her Mukiga husband in Toro. Nice is doing the same by trying to take Kasango’s body there. Kasango is a Jap from Tororo according to his mother. Whereas her Mukiga father was buried in Toro, this time around we shall see if the Jopadhola will readily give in to those two women. There are women who believe that in order for them to gain wealth and power their husbands must first die.
@Victor, yes, I know that Nice’s biological father, Paul Bitarabeho was a mukiga; in fact, I know Nice all the way from Kitante Primary School where she started P1 in 1976! See? Upon her father’s sudden death is when her mother came to know that the man had fathered some kids with another woman but that is a story for another day. Gweri is Nice’s mother’s home village, yes. But in this story here of Kasango Bob, all these women are condemning each other for trying to do the SAME thing and it is only that Nice has won the “race” legally. Nice’s mother may have buried her husband, a mukiga, in Gweri. Bob Kasango’s mother wants to bury him in Tororo where he is also NOT from; she (Kasango’s mother) admitted in court that Kasango was biologically fathered by a MUSOGA who moved from his ancestral home in Iganga to Bulemezi where he died and is now buried. See? So if she wants to return her son’s remains to his ancestral land, why not Bulemezi where his father is buried, or why not Iganga where his father is from? Why Tororo among the Japadhola whom he is not biologically related to but rather just grew up from there as a “Mujja na Nyina” when his mother got married there? When Kasango’s mother was asked this very question, her reply was “I am the one who knows my reasons for wanting to bury him in Tororo”! Really? If that is the logic we are going to apply to the matter, then Nice also has her reasons for wanting to bury him in Gweri. Why keep any information undisclosed but use the (contradictory in this case) logic of “cultural norms. If it goes against cultural norms to bury a dead man at his inlaws Cemetary, it also goes against cultural norms to bury a dead man in his STEP father’s Cemetary when it is known that he does not have blood ties with the Japadhola! If Kasango’s mother and her relatives are well-intentioned in this matter and that their fight for his body is not just about trying to stake a claim in his material possessions, then WHY not propose to bury his body in either Iganga where his BIOLOGICAL BLOOD father hails from, or in Bulemezi where said biological father is now buried as per established cultural norms that they are giving as reasons for fighting for his body? Let her be transparent; what is she withholding?
I will tell you that Kasango is a Japadhola and was born in Tororo, went to school there, educated there and has sisters and brothers there, speaks Dhopadhola, has a clan and all. The problem is that the Bantu dread and loathe the culture of the Jopadhola which is a very resilient Luo culture. The Jopadhola social and cultural systems have a very prominent role in assimilating other tribes, for example, they have assimilated a lot of the Iteso, many Basoga, Banyole, Basamia, etc. Therefore, Kabise, Kasango’s grandfather was assimilated in Padhola a long time ago and they belong to the Ojilai clan in Padhola and was buried there. Even Rose Kabise is actually Rose Apio. Her father migrated to Katerema village in Budama, married there, died there and all his children are Jopadhola with Padhola names according to Padhola culture. When a woman gets a child at home, that child’s father is traced but the child can grow there and get educated there. Whether the mother gets married or not the child belongs to the people who brought him up. It is not a parental custody battle or time to establish who is the father or not, when the mother is present. It is therefore laughable to bring up Iganga in court to try to do some ethnic cleansing by the Muganda/Muntu biased judge who has been compromised by Nice/not Nice in their hatred toward the Jopadhola. The Jopadhola don’t bury in public cemeteries. There is nothing like a stepfather’s cemetery. The man has his plot of land in Tororo district with a house already built which “not-Nice” is trying to over-shadow because she is drunk with ill-gotten wealth. What if I tell you that Kasango has a Japadhola wife according to the Jap culture? Nice is not the first person to marry a Jap because the Jopadhola are very handsome. Just wait and see how the lies of Nice and her denial of Kasango’s Jopadholaness will go. This case will be appealed even if she pays the deputy IGP or calls Kainerugaba. Why does she want the body and not the relatives of the man or his mother? The ill-gotten wealth has no power to change the facts. And the Batoro/Kiga women of her calibre are not very desirable. If you want you can inherit her and have your skull buried in her mother’s home for witchcraft purposes, but not Kasango.
@Victor, Don’t you see that in your argument here you just made the case for Nice and her family? Your very argument here including the examples is the VERY strength of her case!! Kasango’s grandfather migrated to padhola and married there and was assimilated into the tribe. Kasango, as an adult man also did the same among the Wabunohas of Tooro! Being born at a place does not in itself make you of that place. Kasango’s biological mother admitted to the judge and all present under oath in court that Kasango’s father was a Busoga from iganga who migrated to Bulemezi where he lived out his life and is now buried. Now YOU tell us that Kasango’s grandfather migrated to the padhola and was assimilated into the tribe and married among them and was given their names. It is the same thing that Bob Kasango has done with the Batooro and maybe, as history is known to repeat itself, it is what his children will do! Assimilation is not exclusively for the padhola; even batooro can assimilate. Even Bob’s children got Batooro names (nurungi, karungi) just as (you tell us) he got padhola names. The VERY reasons and examples you cite in your argument are the ones that would render it null and void on appeal; like the grandfather, like father, like son, … The only inconsistency I observe here that can be argued is that Nice told the court that Bob had his own one-acre piece of land where he was going to be buried, and the judge cited the same as A basis for her ruling BUT according to the pictures and video’s we have seen, he was buried in his in-laws’ cemetery alongside other graves.
The Jopadhola have both patrilineal and matrilineal arrangements in their ethnic group to cater for all the cultural needs. Therefore, the judge has erred and applied double standards because of hatred for the Luo-speaking Jopadhola people. The judge treated Kasango’s mother like a piece of trash. She has been compromised. In fact, this judge has been compromised through bribery to pervert justice. Her name must be given to the US state department to be investigated for taking bribes and must be blacklisted and even removed from the bench at least. Two judges have already been investigated and blacklisted. We cannot have such people sitting in law courts while abusing the courts for personal aggrandizement. In fact, the government should also go after the ill-gotten wealth Nice Bitarabeho is using to buy the courts. No wonder, it is not a secret that the Judiciary in Uganda is one of the most corrupt institutions. The courts are abused by thugs/Mafia like Nice Bitarabeho to pervert natural justice.
On behalf of the women in this country
Let the Jopadhola people pursue their cultural case to the highest level
Let us respect the mother of the deceased, she heard that the father of her son migrated to Bulemeezi, if any of his relatives still exist they can suggest an opinion
She is entitled to her beliefs, because that was her child, and will forever remain one
(she is again entitled to have reasons, why she wanted to bury him)
The one who knows the widow, yes she has played her role, to ensure that her children mourn in a way that will ensure proper recovery. Again as women we pray that she recovers from the stress
We however as outsiders observe that several components of the truth are missing
why was the independent elder not asked about the Japhadhola culture in relation to the respondent (if what Victor says is true that you become a Jap by assimilation)
why did the evidence of the house and support of relatives from Tororo [including one educated from nursery to University] not appear in the judgement?
The house of the deceased if it exists, one was shown on TV?!! remeber where some elders wer e”falling sick” because of delay of burial
What is the relevance of
(a) Upon her father’s sudden death is when her mother came to know that the man had fathered some kids with another woman but that is a story for another day.
vs
(b)What if I tell you that Kasango has a Japadhola wife according to the Jap culture?
so without taking sides [avoiding insults to ethnic groups] there are several Themes here
There is the ultimate end of educating the public
For those who know the law, ” Why Tororo among the Japadhola whom he is not biologically related to but rather just grew up from there as a “Mujja na Nyina” when his mother got married there? Let the “Bajja na nnyina” stop pretending to be bonafide occupants of land occupied by the husband of their mothers (unless given in a will)
or we are shifting goal posts?1
This case must be appealed.
Kasango’s mother Rose Kabise told the court that Kasango was born to a Musoga father, Livingston Richard Kasimo and raised by his stepfather Bonaventure Okello, a Japadhola from Tororo.
But she added that Kasimo died many years ago and, she heard that, he had been buried somewhere in Bulemeezi where he had bought a piece of land. Kabise added that Kasango had bought her land in Tororo, and that is where she wanted her son to be buried. However, during cross-examination by Bitarabeho’s lawyers Jamilu Mujurizi and Humphrey Tumwesigye, it was revealed that there is no proof for the purchase of land in Tororo.
Change the title to read: “Kasango buried in Fort Portal, Body Transported at Night, Buried beside his Mukiga Father-in Law” as Mwenda officiates at the Burial.”
This is because they were likely to lose the appeal which was going to be heard on Monday. The whole thing was pre-arranged, hire a judge to hear the case on Friday, and order that burial takes place within four days. Trash and confuse the mother of Kasango on Friday and write a cooked ‘judgment’.
Conclusion: “The rich also cry” or is it “The rich also die” as there is such a film.
That is the kind of judge M7 appoints to head an anti-corruption court. Ha ha! She leads in corruption and injustice. Justice is sold to the highest bidder. If you are ‘poor’ don’t go to her court. She’s for hire!