Winnie Byanyima fights Capt Kassami, Bwengye over control of her late father’s estate

Left to Right: Winnie Byanyima, Capt John Kassami, and Francis Bwengye

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.

Justice Allan Paul Nshimye, who presided over the case, explained that while the applicants have given strong reasons for the extension of the probate period, the views of the beneficiaries must be considered.

“The beneficiaries appeared in court physically or via Zoom on different dates and expressed opposition to the application,” Justice Nshimye said.

He made it clear that while the court can sometimes renew a grant even if some beneficiaries object, in this case, it was hard because all the beneficiaries are against the renewal.

Justice Nshimywe stressed that the estate belongs to the beneficiaries, not Kassami or Bwengye.

Another issue that weakened the executors’ case was their inability to fully carry out their duties because, at some point Capt Kassami was said to be ill and indisposed in South Sudan, where he runs several businesses.

Justice Nshimye explained that even if the grant was renewed, the absence of one executor (Kassami) would make it difficult to transfer or distribute property.

Taking all these factors into account, he concluded that the executors had failed to meet the legal threshold. He dismissed Kassami and Bwengye’s application to the joy of Winnie and her siblings.

He directed that each party should pay its own legal fees.

However, Justice Nshimye’s decision has created uncertainty in the management of Boniface Byanyima’s estate because Kassami and Bwengye have no legal authority to continue managing it.