Kampala — The High Court in Kampala has been drawn into a deeply personal and painful family dispute following claims that prominent businessman Musinguzi James Garuga’s final days were marked by missed opportunities for treatment, questionable medical decisions and restricted access to his loved ones.
In a civil suit filed before the court, Garuga’s son Musinguzi Alwyn Carl Garuga, accuses his mother, Ms Musinguzi Peace Kesiime and his brother, Musinguzi Philip of actions and decisions that he believes contributed to his father’s death in August 2025.
The case, brought under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, centres on what the deceased’s heir Alwyn Garuga describes as a series of avoidable events that denied the late businessman a chance to receive specialised medical care abroad at a time when his condition was rapidly deteriorating.
According to court filings, doctors had advised that Garuga be urgently flown to the United States for advanced treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
However, that plan never materialised. The plaintiff alleges that Ms Kesiime who was in charge of medical decisions as next of kin, opposed the move despite clear medical advice.
Attention later shifted to the United Kingdom, where arrangements were being made for treatment at Cromwell Hospital. But even this effort faced setbacks. The suit claims that an earlier visa application was mishandled with incorrect information submitted about the tycoon’s occupation leading to a rejection that could have been avoided.
It was only after the plaintiff intervened, the court is told, that a fresh application was processed and approved within days. By then, however, valuable time had already been lost.
More troubling, Alwyn Garuga alleges that even after the visa was secured and an air ambulance placed on standby to transfer Garuga from Nakasero Hospital, the journey never took place.
Instead, his passport was reportedly submitted for a separate visa process to Turkey, effectively delaying his departure for urgent care in London.
As his condition worsened, attention turned to treatment within the country. The suit points to a decision to carry out a hip replacement surgery shortly after Garuga had been diagnosed with diabetes.
According to the plaintiff, this was done before his condition had stabilised exposing him to complications that weakened his already fragile health.
There are also claims of lapses in care during his hospital stay, including an incident in which food administered through a feeding tube is said to have entered his lungs. The plaintiff argues that this among other issues worsened his condition at a critical stage.
Following the surgery, Garuga’s health reportedly declined further and he was later diagnosed with cancer. The court documents indicate that he was transferred from Nakasero Hospital to CORSU Hospital, a move the plaintiff questions given the complexity of his illness.
In his final days, an open-chest procedure was carried out but it was unsuccessful. Around the same time, efforts were reportedly underway to secure treatment in Turkey even though a valid visa for the United Kingdom had already been obtained.
The most painful claim, however, relates to access. The plaintiff says he was denied the chance to see his father during official visiting hours on the day he died, a situation he says caused him deep distress and left unanswered questions about what transpired in those final moments.
The suit accuses Kesiime and Philip Musiinguzi of negligence, arguing that their decisions and actions delayed or denied the deceased access to appropriate medical care and contributed to the decline in his health.
The court is yet to hear the defence from Ms Kesiime and Philip. As the case unfolds, it is expected to shed light not only on the circumstances surrounding Garuga’s death but also on the delicate and often contested role of family members in making critical medical decisions.
For now, what remains is a family divided and a court tasked with determining whether the loss of one of its own could have been prevented.
