Retired Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny Dollo has asked for forgiveness from anyone he may have wronged unknowingly, reflecting that “the future is bigger than today and bigger than yesterday.”
Justice Owiny Dollo made the remarks during a special luncheon held in honour of his service at Level Seven of the Supreme Court Building in Kampala. He retired this week after attaining the mandatory retirement age.
Owiny Dollo was appointed Chief Justice on August 20, 2020, by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, becoming the 13th holder of the office. He succeeded Bart Magunda Katureebe, who retired in June 2020 upon reaching the constitutional age limit.
“My greatest professional satisfaction came from judgment writing. The administrative responsibilities limited the time I could dedicate to it,” he said.
He noted the guiding role of Supreme Court decisions for lower courts and pledged to complete his pending judicial work.
Owiny Dollo also expressed his intention to return to society to serve humanity, revealing plans to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre in Gulu and to continue championing mediation as a means of providing affordable justice. He encouraged colleagues to learn both from his successes and from areas where he believed he could have done better.
Drawing from his experience in foreign affairs, the Chief Justice Emeritus observed that while formal sittings are important, informal interactions often build bridges, foster understanding, and strengthen working relationships.
He thanked God for the opportunity to lead the Judiciary of Uganda and the Supreme Court, describing his colleagues as sisters and brothers with whom he greatly enjoyed working.
Prior to his substantive appointment, Owiny Dollo served as Acting Chief Justice from June 22, 2020. He had earlier been appointed Deputy Chief Justice on September 30, 2017, a position that under Ugandan law also makes its holder head of the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. He replaced Steven Kavuma, who retired after turning 70.
Background and Career
In 1988, Owiny Dollo served as legal counsel during peace negotiations between the Government of Uganda and the then rebel group, the Uganda People’s Democratic Movement (UPDM). In that role, he drafted the peace agreement signed on June 3, 1988, at Pece Stadium in Gulu.
Between 1994 and 1996, he was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. He later served as a Member of Parliament representing Agago County in the Sixth Parliament from 1996 to 2001.
From 2006 to 2008, Owiny Dollo acted as legal counsel to South Sudan’s Vice President, Riek Machar, who mediated peace talks between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda.
In 2008, he was appointed a judge of the High Court of Uganda, where he served until 2015. That year, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal but delayed assuming the role to conclude a high-profile terrorism trial arising from the 2010 Kampala bombings that killed 76 people. The case was concluded in May 2016.
In August 2017, President Museveni appointed him Deputy Chief Justice, a role he held until his elevation to Chief Justice in 2020.
Controversies
Owiny Dollo’s tenure was not without controversy.
In March 2022, while speaking at the home of the late Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah, he accused some Baganda of protesting outside a hospital in Seattle, United States, where Oulanyah was admitted, demanding his return to Uganda for treatment. The remarks sparked public outrage, with critics accusing him of ethnic insensitivity.
“Your ethnic leader was transported in a presidential jet to Germany using public funds he was not entitled to. You did not demonstrate. Is it because Oulanyah is an Acholi? Is it because Oulanyah does not speak your language?” Owiny Dollo said at the time.
Following the backlash, Owiny Dollo, accompanied by former Uganda People’s Congress president Olara Otunnu, met the Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga, at Bulange, Mengo, where he apologised for the remarks, including claims that the Kabaka had used a presidential jet for medical treatment abroad.
In March 2021, controversy also arose during the hearing of the presidential election petition filed by former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine. Supreme Court Justice Esther Kisakye accused the Chief Justice of ordering the confiscation of files containing her minority ruling.
Justice Kisakye alleged that the ruling was removed on the Chief Justice’s instructions before it could be read in court.
On February 11, 2025, President Museveni established a Tribunal of Inquiry to investigate Justice Kisakye’s conduct in relation to the handling of the March 18, 2021 presidential election petition. The period following the petition was marked by strained relations between Justice Kisakye and Chief Justice Owiny Dollo.
In July 2023, Justice Kisakye retired from the Supreme Court and later fled into exile, citing threats to her life.
Owiny Dollo exits the Judiciary after a long career spanning peace negotiations, legislative service, and senior judicial leadership, leaving behind a legacy marked by both significant contributions to Uganda’s legal development and notable controversy.
