OBITUARY: Khiddu Makubuya, former attorney general, dies at 75

A studious academic blighted by his legal opinions

OBITUARY | IAN KATUSIIME |Former Attorney General Prof. Khiddu Makubuya has been described as a humble and hardworking academic but many also noted his service to the NRM government where he infamously gave a legal opinion arguing that Dr. Kizza Besigye could not be nominated as a presidential candidate while he was in jail. This was in late 2005 after Besigye’s heroic return from exile in South Africa to run for president.

Besigye was arrested on November 14, 2005 and thereafter; debates, legal and political, ensued. Makubuya stood his ground and said Besigye could not be nominated while on remand at Luzira prison facing charges of treason and rape.

One of Attorney General Makubuya’s deputies however said Besigye, who was then aiming at his second presidential run, could be nominated. It set off several debates among other lawyers but Makubuya’s legal opinion earned him intense criticism. The High Court ultimately ruled against Makubuya who was head of the bar as Attorney General.

Nineteen years later, commentators were quick to point out Makubuya’s stance when news broke that he had passed on.

When Makubuya made headlines again, it was another controversy: the compensation of businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba with hundreds of billions of shillings. The case ended Makubuya’s political career after he was forced to resign in 2012.

It was the end of a life in public service that began in the mid-1990s when Makubuya was appointed as a member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission, a body that advised on the constitution making process that led to the new constitution in 1995.

Early life

Makubuya was born July 30, 1949. He studied law at Makerere University Kampala and immortalised his name in the law school when he became the first student to pass with a first class law degree in 1974. It is an exclusive club that few have managed to enter to-date. His feat earned him a position as a special assistant at the Faculty of Law.

This marked the beginning of his journey into academia. Makubuya’s talents took him to Yale University in the U.S. where he earned a master’s degree in law. In 1979, he was appointed lecturer at Makerere University which at the time was a high honour. In 1982, his star rose higher when he earned the stripes of senior lecturer.

These were times of peril and many of his ilk were running into exile but according to Makubuya’s contemporaries, the young academic stayed behind to teach which was a passion he was nurturing. Makubuya earned a Doctor of Juridical Science from Yale University after his master’s program. The DJS is defined as “a highly specialised research doctorate in law designed for those seeking to pursue careers as teachers and scholars of law.”

Some of the several lawyers Makubuya taught are Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Nobert Mao and longtime legislator Abdul Katuntu of Bugweri County. They attended Makubuya’s “Introduction to Law” class in the late 1980s.

Time in Cabinet

After the NRM captured power in 1986 and ushered in an era of stability, many people joined politics and Makubuya seized the opportunity. 1996, he was elected MP for Katikamu South in Luwero district. He was then appointed state minister for Luwero triangle to oversee the reconstruction of his home area after it was ravaged by the guerilla war that brought NRM to power.

Makubuya served in other ministerial posts in the office of prime minister and as minister of foreign affairs. But according to those who knew him, he remained humble and was never fazed by the pomp and circumstance of cabinet positions unlike many of his colleagues.

In 1999, Makubuya was rewarded with the high profile post of minister of education at a time the government was introducing a signature programme: Universal Primary Education aimed at mass enrollment. It is here that he also made his mark by working hard to establish a license for Ndejje University according to Prof. Eriabu Lugujjo, a contemporary of his from Makerere.

In 2005, Makubuya hit a high point in his career when he was named attorney general in a cabinet reshuffle. The appointment turned out to be a poisoned chalice as his opinion on Besigye’s presidential bid haunted him throughout his time.

In 2011, he was transferred to the ministry of general duties. In his new position, he faced mounting pressure from parliament regarding his advice as attorney general for government to provide compensation to Basajjabalaba worth Shs142billion. The businessman lost tenders to manage markets and demanded his pound of flesh. A year later, Makubuya resigned from cabinet and retreated into quiet life.

Makubuya has been praised as a studious and diligent academic who rose from humble beginnings to serve in cabinet. He died at Nakasero Hospital on August 19 after a long illness. He is survived by a wife and children.