Retired High Court judge, Leticia Mary Mukasa-Kikonyogo has died aged 77, Judicial spokesperson Vincent Emmy Mugabo has confirmed.
Mugabo said Kikonyogo passed on Thursday from Mulago hospital where she was rushed two days back when her condition deteriorated.
“Hon Justice Kikonyogo has been confined to a wheelchair for quite sometime but it was two days back when her condition worsened. She was rushed to Mulago hospital but unfortunately passed on today,” he confirmed the death.
“However, I am not yet aware of the cause of the death. Though, I will furnish you with this information as it comes in, along with the burial arrangements,” Mugabo added.
Retired Justice Leticia Kikonyogo has held many high profile positions, making her one of the most gifted women in Uganda.
She was the first Ugandan woman magistrate Grade I (1971-1973), the first woman Chief Magistrate (1973-1986), the first woman to be appointed High Court judge (1986) and sat on the Court of Appeal to hear criminal appeals.
In 1997, Mukasa-Kikonyogo was also appointed the first woman justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda and the first woman to be appointed Deputy Chief Justice.
She was also the head of the Court of Appeal and president of the Constitutional Court of Uganda in February 2001.
Mukasa-Kikonyogo was the first African president of the International Association of Women Judges.
Pope Benedict XVI also appointed her as one of the two Ugandan dames to be the first ever women papal knights in the history of the Catholic Church not only in Uganda, but also in the whole of Africa.
