MBARARA – Moments after the Rtd Supreme Court’s Justice Alfred N. Karokora was laid to rest at Ruharo, Mbarara Municipality on Wednesday afternoon, the family received news of the death of his Son, Albert Mwine Karokora.
Albert, who passed away at Mbarara hospital, is said to have succumbed to severe head injuries that he sustained from a motor accident in Mbarara on Wednesday last week. He’s the late Justice Karokora’s youngest son and second last born.
At Justice Karokora’s burial, former judges praised their deceased colleague as a man of integrity.
Former Principle Judge of the High Court Justice James Ogoola said Karokora was a judge whom the country would miss.
“We have many kinds of judges, but honourable justice Karokora was one of a kind. He was a mature judge not only biologically in age but with maturity of analysis, approach of the Bench, treating the staff well and his exceptional handling of lawyers, who appeared before him showed him as a man of cool posture,” Justice Ogoola said.
He added: “I also remember him during the referendum when the country was going under multiparty transition and we had to formulate a question for the people to quickly understand without ambiguity. A team was formed and Justice Karokora was the chair of that team. I was a member.”
Likewise, former Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki, who taught the late Karokora at the Law Development Centre (LDC), described him as a distinguished colleague whom they later worked with at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and at the Supreme Court Bench.
“He was a very calm and steady gentleman. A man who rose through the ranks in the Judiciary due to his integrity. He was truly a judicial officer who was very balanced in judgements,” Justice Odoki said.
Commercial court judge Paul Gadenya, who worked with justice Karokora at the Supreme Court as one of his aides, recalls that the late jurist was fast at drafting his copies of a given judgment.
Principal Judge Yorokamu Bamwine remembers the late judge for his counselling services to judicial officers.
“He was a great mentor especially of young magistrates and judges. He recognised the fact that there are temptations in the judicial service and that to avoid them, one had to be firm and say no to those temptations,” Justice Bamwine eulogised Justice Karokora at the weekend.
The late judge will also be remembered to have been part of the Supreme Court justices, who ruled in the 2001 presidential election petition between President Museveni and Dr Kizza Besigye.
