By our reporter
Justice Leticia Eulalia Mary Mukasa-Kikonyogo , Uganda’s first woman Deputy Chief Justice has passed on this afternoon at Mulago Hospital.
She is the first woman, who has held many high profile positions, making her one of the rarest 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.
Recently, Pope Benedict XVI 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.
In summary
Justice Kikonyogo is a woman of many “firsts”.
- She was rated 6th most powerful person in Uganda’s public life
- First woman magistrate Grade I (1971-1973)
- First woman Chief Magistrate (1973-1986)
- First woman to be appointed High Court judge (1986) and sat on the Court of Appeal to hear criminal appeals
- First woman to be appointed Deputy Chief Justice.
