Who is Justice Remmy Kasule? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, children, family, tribe, and relationship with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, James Munange Ogoola, Dr Robert Sebunya, Denis Lutwama Kasule, Ugandan Supreme Court, early life and education of the former Justice of the Court of Appeal of Uganda.
Justice Remmy Kasule formally known as Remegious Kyonooneka Kasule is a Ugandan lawyer and judge.
He served as the Justice of the Court of Appeal of Uganda and he officially retired at seventy-two years after being re-appointed even when he had clocked the mandatory retirement age of seventy years.
Early Life and Education
Remmy Kasule was born in 1949 in the Central Region of Uganda. His elder brother is Dr Robert Sebunya. His son Denis Lutwama Kasule passed on in the United States under mysterious circumstances.
Remmy Kasule enrolled at Makerere University after his secondary education and was part of the first graduating class, earning a Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
Afterwards, he graduated with a Certificate in Legal Practice from Kampala’s Law Development Center (LDC).
Career and Professional Work Experience
Remmy Kasule was a member of the Democratic Party and a politician prior to being appointed to the bench. For a seat on the Constituent Assembly (CA), which drafted the 1995 Constitution, he lost to the late John Zimula Mugwanya.
He then focused on his private practice after that defeat, becoming well-known as a criminal defence lawyer, and was conferred the title of Senior Counsel by the Uganda Law Council.
Kasule was appointed to the High Court of Uganda in 2004. He worked in the Kampala circuit from 2004 to 2007 and the Gulu circuit from 2007 to 2011.
In addition, Judge Remmy Kasule was the head of the Uganda Law Council. He had also previously presided over the Law Council’s disciplinary committee.
He has also served as the Uganda Law Society’s previous president and also held the position of commissioner for the Judicial Service Commission.
Judge Remmy Kasule urged the government to enact the Legal Aid bill in 2019, arguing that doing so will empower impoverished and poor Ugandans to get state-funded legal assistance.
After serving the required 70 years as a judge on the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court, Judge Kasule formally retired in October 2019.
However, following discussions between the judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission, the government agency tasked with hiring judicial officers, he was rehired on a two-year contract that expired on July 22, 2021.
Achievements and Awards
As a result of his accomplishments in criminal cases, Kasule eventually earned the title of Senior Counsel, conferred upon him by the Uganda Law Council.
Justice Remmy Kasule served in the judiciary for almost 17 years before his official retirement in 2021.
He greatly contributed to the Bar and Bench of Uganda and also mentored several judicial officers and lawyers. He also contributed towards the creation of the Appellate Mediation Registry at the Court.
Hon. Justice Kasule was honoured with two prizes in appreciation for his exceptional service. The DCJ gave him a personal appreciation award in recognition of his kindness, comprehension, direction, and counsel.
The Justices then gave him another award in recognition of his excellent and selfless commitment to the administration of justice in Uganda.
Controversies
In a letter to the Chief Justice that was published on December 31, 2005, in New Vision and The Monitor, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaders Winnie Byanyima and Jack Sabiiti claimed that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni had bought off Justice Remy Kasule of the High Court and Deputy Chief Justice Leticia Kikonyogo through the Chief of Military Intelligence.
It was alleged that Justice Kasule was bribed to deny Kizza Besigye, the FDC President by then bail.
President Museveni later denounced the news claiming that there was no need to bribe Justice Kasule since he did not preside over any bail application made by Besigye. Instead, the bail application was handled by Justice James Munange Ogoola.
In April 2009, Remmy Kasule rejected a request from the government that sought to absolve it of duty for paying the war claimants’ compensation.
The government, through Senior State Attorney Henry Oluka, had filed a court application claiming that the property of the war claimants, who numbered over 6000 during the Acholi War, had been taken over by soldiers acting individually.
Oluka argued that the government was not responsible for the accusations. However, Judge Remy Kasule denied the government’s request, stating that it was in conflict with the consent decision that the same court made on September 11, 2008.
Around 1.4 trillion shillings were sought by the war claimants as compensation for their lost livestock and property.
Kasule was one of the five justices on the Constitutional Court that considered the contentious appeal about the presidential age limit in 2018. He officially ruled in favour of raising the age limit.
Judge Remmy Kasule served on the panels that handled a number of cases, including the well-known “Rebel MPs” case from 2014 involving Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga), Muhammad Nsereko of Kampala Central, Wilfred Niwagaba of Ndorwa East and Barnabas Tinkasiimire of Buyaga West.
The Constitutional Court established a precedent when it declared in a petition opposing Speaker Rebecca Kadaga‘s choice to keep the four MPs who were expelled by the NRM that an MP loses their House seat automatically once they are dismissed from their party.
Judge Remmy Kasule, in a dissenting opinion, stated that it was unfair that the MPs lost their seats in parliament despite being expelled from the party.
He stated that MPs had the freedom to hold views contrary to those of the party and that doing so would not result in their expulsion.
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