Role
/ Mission
The main role of the Administrator
General is to ensure that estates of Deceased Persons
in Uganda are properly administered and managed in
accordance with the Laws governing succession matters.
Physical
Address
The Administrator General’s
Office is Located on Plot 43, Jinja Road (occupies
2nd and 3rd Floors) next to National Water and sewerage
Corporation. For enquiries call 341915/ 230 539
Main
Function of Administrator General's Department
Generally Administering estates
of deceased persons who die interstate and where there
are disputes or the estates of those who die testate
but do not appoint executors of their wills or where
those appointed as executors fail or decline to act
and/or in case where the Administrator General is
appointed the executor by the deceased, and vetting
intending Administrators of estates by issuing them
with a clearance called a Certificate of No Objection
Main
Activities
In
carrying out the above function the following activities
are undertaken interalia;
Instituting
Legal proceedings in courts of law against intermeddlers,
fraudulent administrators of deceased’s estates,
unscrupulous relatives and others for the recovery
of deceased’s properties from wrong hands
Distributing
properties of deceased persons (including money) to
the beneficiaries of their estates and winding up
of estates.
Managing
the interests/shares/properties of minors and/persons
of unsound mind which come under the control of the
Public Trustee in accordance with the Public Trustee
Act/or the Administration of Estates of unsound mind
Act Chapter 146 of the Laws of Uganda.
Giving
legal advice and arbitrating in succession matters
to resolve conflicts
Issuing
certificates of No Objection (clearance letters) to
applicants for letters of Administration i.e those
persons willing and agreed upon to administer the
estates concerned.
Under Section 5 of the Administrator
General’s Act, It is a legal requirement to
report the death of any person who dies testate or
intestate within or outside Uganda leaving property
within Uganda to the Administrator General.
Process
of Reporting Deaths and Requirements
Every
New Case commences with:
Buying a File Cover/Death Report
Form costing Shs 2,000/= From the Cash Office
Filling
in the Death Report Form Fully and Attaching a DEATH
CERTIFICATE or Letter of the relevant LC 1 Confirming
the death of the Deceased, the Will of the Deceased
(if any), a marriage Certificate (if any) a written
APPLICATION/PETITION/COMPLAINT regarding how you want
to be assisted by this office.
Thereafter
a File is formally authorized to be opened by a Legal
Officer and given a reference Serial Number by our
Registry for final processing
Estates Management in Administrator General's
Department
The Administrator General's Department
/ Public Trustee is charged with the duty of managing
estates of deceased persons. The Department was established
by the Administrator General's Act (Cap 140) and the
Public Trustee Act (Cap 141), laws of Uganda.
The Department also issues clearance letters (Certificates
of No Objection) to intending applicants to enable
them apply for letters of administration. For effective
management of estates, the Department has been divided
into 3 regions, namely: -
Buganda ( Central Region)
Western
Northern/
Eastern Region including Karamoja.
These regions are headed by either
a Senior State Attorney or Principal State Attorney.The
number of estates from the region vary depending on
the cases reported in the Department. Each state Attorney
is allocated files / cases by the Administrator General
who is the chief executive.
The number of files handled by each
state Attorney also vary but on average it's approximately
25 - 50 files per day. Some cases are recurrent making
it almost impossible to determine the time it takes
to conclude them especially where there are constant
wrangles over properties or money.
For avoidance of doubt it should be noted that in
reality there are no dormant estates in the Department.
In
the case of disbursement
of funds, the Department processes
payment with in a period of about two weeks if all
the supporting documents produced by the clients are
proper.
However where there are doubts, there is no time frame
within which payment can be processed. Payment can
only be processed after proper identification has
been made and/ or when the doubt has been cleared.
The Department is comprised
of a number of sections and these are:
Land
Section: This is headed by A State Attorney and manages
the succession to land in the former Buganda Kingdom
An
Accounts Section, This is headed by a Senior Accountant
who is responsible for the management and disbursement
of funds from the estates of deceased persons, minors,
missing persons, and persons of unsound mind or advanced
age. The section generates income from Investments(mainly
Treasury Bills)
A
records Section, this keeps all records of the department
related to the administration of the deceased persons’
estates and Public Trustee. A Senior Assistant Records
Officer heads the section and is supported by two
Records Assistants (Grade I and II)
An
Office Support Services Section. This is headed by
a Principal Office supervisor who takes charge of
maintaining tools and office equipment, office cleanliness,
mail, supervision of junior staff and support staff,
office Security, control of stores and purchase and
supply of stationery. The head is supported by Senior
Office Supervisors and other Office supervisors. These
in turn attend to clients having business with Administrator
General over properties of the deceased and Trusts,
write statements from clients, and prepare briefs
for forwarding to Lawyers. They also visit sites of
the estates, assess the situation and make reports
to the Administrator General
Devolution Plans
Plans
to devolve the department whereby it would become
an autonomous body corporate run on more or less commercial
principals to render it viable and self sustaining
are still on hold. This was one of the recommendations
of the World Bank in the public Reform drive. However
as usual imposed certain conditionalities which included
new legislation to reflect certain changes as well
as providing counter part funding on the part of the
Government for it to implement its part of the project.
Cabinet approved the Devolution but the relevant parliamentary
Sectoral Committee had certain reservations particularly
on the principal of cost recovery visa vis the social
service aspect from which the majority of the clients,
being poor persons, benefit from at almost nominal
fee. The legislation is in any event not yet in place.
So devolution is still awaiting implementation.
The
department is headed by Mr.
Ndawula O.M.J who is the Administrator
General
