Semwanga's body will not be exhumed, court rules

By Sania Babirye

The High court in Kampala has dismissed an application that was seeking  orders to  have  the body of the late Ivan Ssemwanga exhumed  after he was buried with legal tenders.

On Monday,  high court judge  Marget Oguli -Oumo  declined  to grant a concerned citizens Abey Mgugu's request in which he sued  A-plus funeral management  that was in charge of the burial and funeral arrangements on grounds that A-plus was not responsible for the supervision and enforcement of respect of currency notes in its contract with the deceased's family.

Justice Oguli Oumo has also ruled that Mgugu does not have a cause of action  against A-plus because it's   not the  company that  threw money into Ssemwanga's  grave, some thing which would have given rise to this case.

She has further  exonerated Bank of Uganda which the petitioner had accused  of  neglecting its statutory duty to protect currency on grounds that the  Bank of Uganda Act gives it no duty to enforce respect of the Ugandan currency and those from other jurisdictions such as the US dollar and the South African Rand that Mgugu claims were also thrown in Ssemwanga's  grave.

Mgugu had petitioned the high court because he wanted Ssemwanga's grave opened and have the money put back into circulation.

He had accused A-plus funeral service and Bank of Uganda of failing to protect a legal tender by looking on as the youths from the Rich gang threw money  into the grave as Ssemwanga was being buried on the  30th of May 2017 at Nakaliro village in Kayunga district.

However Bank of Uganda still has a pending case before Justice Stephen Musota  where another concerned citizen Robert Ssenfuka  is also seeking Ssemwanga's body be exhumed and put back all the money that was buried with him  into circulation.