Kampala High Court has ruled that Mark Mutaaga Kabenge, a Swiss citizen and biological son of the late David Mutaaga and Deborah Mutaaga, has the paramount right to determine how and where his parents are laid to rest, ending a bitter family and cultural dispute that kept the couple’s bodies in a Kampala funeral home for more than nine months.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Family Division Judge Celia Nagawa ordered the Attorney General and police authorities to facilitate the unconditional release of the remains within 48 hours, clearing the way for Kabenge to proceed with cremation and repatriation to Switzerland.
The judge said the prolonged delay, following the couple’s deaths on July 6, 2025 at their home in Lugonjo, Nakiwogo in Wakiso District, had caused “undeniable anguish” to all parties and required urgent resolution to ensure the deceased received a dignified burial.
The deaths remain the subject of an ongoing murder investigation by police under Entebbe CRB No. 747/2025.
According to the court record, David Mutaaga and his wife were found dead at their home in Lugonjo, Nakiwogo on July 6, 2025 in what the judge described as violent and still unexplained circumstances. Their deaths triggered a murder inquiry, after which the bodies were first taken to Kampala Capital City Authority mortuary before being transferred to A-Plus Funeral Home in Mengo at the request of family members, including the applicant.
Kabenge had petitioned court seeking orders compelling the state to release the bodies of his parents to him or his nominee, while also restraining Omutaka Sendagire Seruwagi Ssengaluma, a clan leader and cousin of the late David Mutaaga, from taking charge of their burial.
The dispute pitted the wishes of the deceased’s biological children, who wanted the remains cremated and repatriated to Switzerland, against those of extended family members in Uganda who argued that David Mutaaga, a Muganda and clan figure, should be buried at the ancestral home in Buddo Naggalabi in accordance with Kiganda customary law.
In her ruling, Nagawa found that although Ugandan law recognises culture and customary burial practices, the decisive factor in such disputes is proximity to the deceased.
“The deceased couple were parents before they were clan leaders and customary heirs,” she held, adding that the biological children occupied the closest and most fundamental relationship to the deceased.
The judge said that while the late David Mutaaga maintained strong cultural ties to Buganda, including customary roles and participation in cultural institutions, there was no documented evidence showing that either he or his wife had expressly wished to be buried in Uganda.
She rejected claims by the clan leader that a diary note written shortly before David Mutaaga’s death amounted to evidence of burial wishes, saying it merely demonstrated continued interest in cultural affairs, not instructions on burial.
Nagawa also ruled that the Attorney General was a proper party to the case because police had effectively frozen release of the bodies pending court direction, even though the remains were physically held at A-Plus Funeral Home in Mengo.
On the murder inquiry, the court held that the ongoing criminal investigation did not justify continued retention of the remains.
The judge noted that full postmortems had already been conducted and documented, and that police had presented no evidence showing that the physical bodies were still needed for investigative purposes.
“Nine months is, on any view, a period that has extended beyond what the investigative necessities of this case require,” the ruling said.
The court further noted that Kabenge had obtained a letter of no objection to cremation from the Swiss Embassy in Nairobi, strengthening his case for repatriation.
Nagawa declared that Kabenge, acting on behalf of himself and his sister Isabella Najjita Mutaaga, has the paramount right to determine both the mode and place of disposal of the remains. She permanently restrained the second respondent and anyone acting under him from receiving, transporting or arranging burial of the bodies without Kabenge’s written authorisation.
Even so, the judge appealed for reconciliation, saying the right to arrange the burial belonged to the children, but the right to attend and mourn belonged to “all who loved the deceased persons.”
The ruling is likely to be closely watched in Uganda, where burial disputes often pit biological relatives against customary and clan interests, especially in cases involving families straddling different legal, cultural and national identities.
