The Family Court in Kampala has ruled that the remains of lawyer Robert Aldridge Kasango, alias Bob, be buried in Fort Portal District in western Uganda.
This follows a petition by the late lawyer’s wife Nice Kasango Bitarabeho and children, who sought powers to have Kasango buried in Gweri Village, Fort Portal City contrary to Kasango’s mother’s wishes to have him laid to rest at his ancestral home in Tororo District.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Ms Bitarabeho told court that the couple acquired land in Fort Portal and it was her husband’s wish to be buried there upon his death.
She also said Kasango had denounced his Tororo family on allegations that they had planned to kill him while he was still young.
She said every time she would ask Kasango about his father, he would break down and cry, saying since his mother had several husbands, he was not sure who his father was.
However, Ms Rosie Kabise, Kasango’s mother, said he was born in Busoga to a Musoga but was raised by his step father Okello Bonneventure of Tororo.
She said her late son had sent her money to buy land in Tororo where he should be laid to rest.
The third witness, Mr Michael Esau Opiiri, who testified as a neutral person, told court that it is against the Japadhola culture and tradition for Kasango’s body to be buried at his in-law’s place in Fort Portal.
He said since Kasango’s grandfather was a Musoga but chose to be buried in Tororo, he should be buried that side at the ancestral tombs.
Background
Kasango succumbed to heart complications on February 27 at Luzira prison, where he was serving a 16-year jail sentence.
After his funeral service on March 2, mourners from Tororo grabbed the coffin containing the body of Kasango, put it on a truck and fled towards Tororo but were later intercepted by police.
