Former principal judge Ntabgoba dead

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The former Principal Judge Jeremiah Herbert Ntabgoba has died. 

According to a statement released by the Judiciary Spokesperson Solomon Muyita, Justice Ntabgoba died on Saturday night at International Hospital Kampala.

The deceased also has been battling diabetes and pneumonia for long.

Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Stephen Musota who worked closely with the deceased said that Ntabgoba was a resilient principled and a workaholic.

Musota who served as the Chief Registrar when Ntabgoba was principal judge said that his death is a big loss to the Judiciary and the entire legal fraternity. He said that the deceased defended the independence of the Judiciary and mentored many judicial officers.

Ntabgoba was born in Kisoro District in 1936. In 1966, Ntabgoba graduated with a Bachelor of Laws at the University East Africa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

In 1976, Ntabgoba was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal of the Government of Uganda. He was also certified in intellectual property from Australia.

From June 1, 1981, to August 31, 1987, he served as the first Director-General of the African Regional Industrial Property Organisation (ARIPO), based in Harare, Zimbabwe.   

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization is an intergovernmental organization for cooperation among African states in patent and other intellectual property matters. At that time, he was serving as a High Court Judge, a position he held up to 1981.

In 1989, President Yoweri Museveni appointed him as the first Principal Judge, a position he held up to his retirement in 2004 before he was replaced by justice James Ogoola

After his retirement Ntabgoba worked as a Consultant on Intellectual Property matters at one of Uganda’s largest law firms- Kampala Associated Advocates.  

He is survived by a widow, Jeninah Mary Nyirandimubakunzi Ntabgoba and six children.

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