Peace Kesiime Musinguzi, the widow
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The death of Ugandan businessman Dr James Musinguzi Garuga has opened a bitter family dispute over an estate estimated at more than Shs1 trillion, with his eldest son, Alwyn Carl Garuga Musinguzi, and his widow, Peace Kesiime Musinguzi, locked in a public and legal confrontation over the businessman’s wealth and companies.
Garuga, who died at Nakasero Hospital on August 6, 2025, aged 71, left behind a sprawling business empire whose ownership, management and succession have now become the subject of court battles, accusations and counter-accusations.
But contrary to what might ordinarily be expected in a succession dispute, it is Alwyn, rather than the widow, who has taken the fight into the public domain, challenging his mother’s handling of the estate and questioning decisions made in the final days of his father’s life.
Slanderous allegations
Peace has responded forcefully, accusing her eldest son of making false and slanderous allegations against her and long-standing family business associates.
Addressing mourners at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala during Garuga’s first memorial service, Peace said the family had initially chosen to remain silent about Alwyn’s accusations as a way of containing the damage and protecting the family from further distress.
She said that decision had become increasingly difficult as Alwyn continued with court actions and public statements.
“My oldest son Alwyn has had fraudulent tendencies for a long time,” Peace told mourners, alleging that his differences with his father dated back several years.
According to Peace, Alwyn’s relationship with his father had deteriorated following a court dispute in 2019, and the disagreements resurfaced immediately after Garuga’s death.
“Immediately following James’s passing, Alwyn did not even allow us to mourn our dear one,” she said.
Matthew Rukikaire dragged in
Peace further accused her son of joining forces with businessman Matthew Rukikaire to pursue lawsuits concerning companies in which Garuga had interests.
She said the litigation had targeted her and long-time business associate Canon Agaba Maguru, whom Alwyn has accused of attempting to take control of his father’s companies.
“Alwyn has since teamed up with Matthew Rukikaire to file numerous court cases, so-called to protect my husband’s interests in the numerous companies from me and Agaba Maguru, alleging we are fraudulently assuming control of the companies,” she said.
The widow described the dispute as painful but expressed hope that the legal battles would eventually come to an end.
Estate worth more than Shs1 trillion
The scale of the disagreement is partly explained by the value and complexity of Garuga’s business interests. In court filings, Alwyn has estimated his late father’s estate at more than Shs1 trillion, making the succession dispute one of the more substantial family property battles to emerge in Uganda in recent years.
At the centre of Alwyn’s complaints is his mother’s administration of the estate. He has accused Peace of under-declaring Garuga’s assets when she sought letters of administration and of attempting to take control of businesses belonging to his father.
Peace has rejected the accusations, arguing that some of the businesses being cited by Alwyn are incorporated companies and therefore legally separate from Garuga’s personal estate.
The dispute has also drawn in Agaba Maguru, whose appointment as a director of Garuga Properties Limited, Kinkizi Development Company Limited and Incafex Limited was challenged by Alwyn.
Maguru has denied wrongdoing and maintained that his appointment was lawful.
Court’s dismissal
The matter reached the company registry, where Assistant Registrar of Companies Daniel Nasasira dismissed Alwyn’s petitions in May. The Registrar found that Alwyn lacked legal standing because he was neither a shareholder nor authorised to represent Garuga’s estate.
However, the decision did not determine whether Maguru’s appointments were themselves valid, leaving aspects of the wider dispute unresolved.
Beyond the property battle, the family is also divided over the circumstances surrounding Garuga’s final illness and failed attempts to secure specialised treatment abroad.
Alwyn has accused his mother and others of frustrating efforts to evacuate his father to Britain for treatment, arguing that delays contributed to his death.
He has said British hospitals were ready to receive Garuga and that an air ambulance had been arranged.
“He had two hospitals waiting for him,” Alwyn said in a video statement after the memorial service, adding that Medical Air Service was ready to evacuate his father to the United Kingdom.
A June 23, 2025 letter from Dr Asif Chaudry, a consultant at Royal Marsden Private Care in London, which was later filed in court, called for urgent investigations and assistance to expedite Garuga’s visa because of the need for treatment for likely advanced cancer.
Viva saga blamed
Alwyn alleges that while his father was critically ill, the passport containing his British visa was instead submitted for a Turkish visa.
He says he eventually filed a human rights case seeking Garuga’s evacuation, but the businessman died before the matter could be determined.
The family, however, disputes Alwyn’s account.
Relatives said that although Garuga obtained a British medical visa, difficulties arose after his treating doctor went on leave. This prompted efforts to secure treatment in Turkey.
By then, they said, his condition had deteriorated rapidly. He slipped into a coma, was admitted to intensive care and subsequently died.
Peace, herself a medical doctor, also used the memorial service to explain why she sought treatment in Turkey around the time of her husband’s death.
She said Uganda’s challenge was not a lack of competent doctors but inadequate equipment and facilities.
The dispute therefore extends beyond money, touching on questions of trust, family loyalty, medical decisions and control of a business empire built during Garuga’s lifetime.
For now, the Shs1 trillion estate remains at the heart of a succession struggle that has moved from the family circle to social media, the company registry and the courts.
