Justice Kakuru applies to retire 7 years early

Court of Appeal Justice Kenneth Kakuru has applied for early retirement due to a health condition he is dealing with, Daily Monitor has learnt.
The outspoken judge, 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.
When contacted for this story, Justice Kakuru said: “Yes it is true, I have applied for early retirement on account of health.”
Born in 1958, Justice Kakuru is 63 this year, seven years shy of the retirement age for Court of Appeal judges.
In his application to the Judicial Service Commission chairperson, Justice Benjamin Kabiito, which he asked him to forward to President Museveni, Justice Kakuru said he had been advised that the management and treatment of his condition “will go on for the rest of my life”.
The judge also copied his letter to the Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera.
In light of what the doctors have said, Justice Kakuru continued: “I find myself unable to continue performing my function as a Justice of the Court of Appeal … I have taken the decision in the interest of the Judiciary, my health and my family.”
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 holds 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.