Winnie Byanyima and her four siblings have opposed a move by businessman Capt John Kassami and lawyer Francis Bwengye to extend their control over the wealth and property left by their father, Boniface Byanyima.
Capt Kassami and Bwengye, who Boniface chose as the executors of his wealth, had asked the court to renew a grant of probate that allowed them to manage and distribute the deceased’s estate.
Boniface Byanyima, a prominent politician and rancher, died in 2017.
He was survived by Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS; Edith Byanyima; Anthony Byanyima; Olivia Byanyima; and Martha Byanyima. Byanyima was wealthy and owned big tracts of land and other property in Ankole.
He was one of the victims of the Ranch Restructuring Scheme in Ankole, where some of his ranches were seized by the government.
Capt Kassami and Bwengye were appointed executors of Byanyima’s estate in May 2018, which gave them the authority to manage and distribute the estate.
However, under the law, such authority expires, and in this particular case, it elapsed on May 31, 2022.
When Kassami and Bwengye tried to renew the grant, arguing that they needed more time to finish the work, hell broke loose.
In their application for renewal, Kassami and Bwengye said, “the estate of Boniface Byanyima still has ongoing case matters which are yet to be resolved. In addition, they said the government was still in the process of compensating Byanyima over the loss of his ranches in the early 1990s.
They also told the court that Byanyima’s estate is also not yet fully administered and distributed amongst all the beneficiaries.
Kassami and Bwengye also asked the court to validate an inventory of the estate they had earlier filed and to extend the deadline for submitting full accounts.
But the children of the late Byanyima, including Winnie, strongly opposed the move.
Through their lawyer, Robert Senfuka, they asked the court to dismiss the application, accusing Kassami and Bwengye of mismanaging the estate.
Olivia Byanyima, who swore an affidavit on behalf of the family, told the court that “Kassami and Bwengye have not complied with the law during the period of the grant and they have grossly mismanaged the estate.”
She also said the beneficiaries had even taken legal action against the executors because of this alleged mismanagement.
Byanyima’s children told the court that the executors had not sought or obtained approval from the beneficiaries before applying for renewal.
Kassami and Bwengye disagreed with this argument. In response, they said the law does not require them to get consent from all beneficiaries before applying for renewal.