On 14th May 2026, Uganda’s Judiciary bid farewell to one of its most distinguished sons at a Special Sitting of the Court of Appeal, Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, the longest-serving High Court Judge in recent memory.
In the address that follows, he speaks with rare humility of family, faith, and the mentors who shaped him,invoking the courage of Chief Justice Wambuzi and Chief Magistrate Kityo , who stood against Idi Amin’s tyranny when it mattered most. He recalls, too, his own quiet legacy: co-founding the Uganda Legal Information Institute (Ulii), which transformed free access to the law for a generation of Ugandans.
But this is more than a farewell. Justice Egonda-Ntende closes with a challenge to today’s Judiciary ; asking, in the case of an innocent father held unlawfully while his children bury their mother alone, where are the Kityos and Wambuzis of this hour?
Judicial Impact is honoured to publish this address in full — a tribute, and a reminder of what defending the rule of law truly costs.
At the Court of Appeal luncheon held on 14th May 2026, the Hon. Chief Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija paid tribute to a colossus of the Ugandan bench , Honorable Justice Frederick Martin Stephen Egonda-Ntende, as he approached the constitutionally mandated retirement age of 70.
In a speech spanning over four decades of service, the Chief Justice traced a career built on statutory clarity, judicial discipline, and an unwavering respect for constitutional boundaries. He recalled a jurist whose courtroom demanded rigour from senior counsel and young advocates alike, and whose judgments always delivered on time continue to shape Ugandan jurisprudence today. Justice Egonda-Ntende’s reach extended well beyond Uganda’s borders, with distinguished service as Chief Justice of the Seychelles and as a judge in East Timor and Kosovo, opening doors for Ugandan judicial officers on the international stage.
Address to the Special Sitting of the Court of Appeal on 14.05.2026 by Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Justice of Appeal:
The Chief Justice singled out, too, a legacy often understated: Justice Egonda-Ntende’s early and persistent advocacy for e-justice and legal informatics, at a time when such ideas were far ahead of their era in Uganda’s courts.
In closing, the Chief Justice offered not just farewell but an invitation for Justice Egonda-Ntende to remain within the Judiciary’s fold, lending his expertise to Alternative Dispute Resolution and Alternative Justice Systems in the years ahead.
Judicial Impact shares this tribute in full, as a fitting record of a career whose influence, in the Chief Justice’s own words, does not expire with retirement.
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