Retired High court judge Wilson Masalu Musene is dead.

Musene retired from active service in 2021 after clocking the mandatory retirement age of 65. But his retirement was marred with controversy when he was sent on forced leave by principal judge Dr Flavian Zeija three months before the official retirement date.

The three months are usually provided for by the constitution to allow the judge time to clear pending chamber work.

Earlier, he had been sanctioned by the United States Department of Treasury over alleged involvement in activities that victimized young children in a corrupt adoption scheme.

The US noted that he, alongside others, participated in a scam that saw young children removed from their families in Uganda and placed into a corrupt adoption network. He denied the allegations and said that he was open to being investigated further.

According to the principal communications officer of the judiciary Sheila Wamboga, Musene passed on Sunday evening at Mbale hospital.

Musene becomes the second high-profile member of the judiciary family to pass on this year following the death of Constitutional court justice Kenneth Kakuru who was still a serving judge.