The High Court has ordered a kinship DNA test to resolve a contentious dispute over the estate of the late Max Lokwang Choudry, who died in 1988.
Choudry served as minister in the first post-independence government and was one of the team of Ugandans who went to Lancaster in the UK in 1961 to make a case for Uganda’s independence.
The ruling by Justice Celia Nagawa addressed claims by Musinguzi Henry Bitature and another applicant asserting their rights as children of the deceased, against Joyce Loumo Choudry, the administratrix of the estate.
The case centred on the estate of Choudry, who left behind properties including land on Jinja Road, a house in Moroto town, and shares in Maxwell Holdings Co. Ltd.
The applicants, claiming to be children of Choudry, sought to revoke the Letters of Administration granted to Joyce Loumo Choudry in 1989, alleging she fraudulently obtained them by purporting to be the deceased’s wife.
Justice Nagawa’s ruling mandates that the applicants, their biological mothers, Lokawa Caroline (another claimed child), her mother, and Lemu Alex (alleged cousin or brother) undergo a kinship DNA test within seven days at the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory in Wandegeya.
“The resolution of paternity is therefore not only in the interest of the Applicants but equally necessary for the 1st Respondent if she is to sustain the legitimacy of her [administration],” the court stated.
If the kinship test fails due to lack of consent or inconclusive results within one month, the court has authorized the exhumation of Choudry’s remains for further DNA testing, despite cultural objections from the respondents.
The second respondent, Lokawa Caroline, argued that “their culture does not allow for interfering with people who were peacefully laid to rest,” highlighting the sensitivity of exhumation in Karamojong tradition.
The court also ordered Joyce Loumo Choudry to return the extended Letters of Administration and 15 certified copies to the court within three days for safekeeping until the resolution of the related civil suits.
The outcome of the DNA tests will determine the rightful beneficiaries of Choudry’s estate, potentially reshaping the administration of his substantial assets.
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