I am delighted to present to you the Makerere University School of Law 2023 Annual report. The report highlights the major activities undertaken and the major outputs in light of our core mandate of teaching, research and community outreach. It also highlights the challenges the School is facing and future plans.

With respect to teaching and learning, we successfully implemented all the scheduled activities including teaching, examinations, orientation for new freshers, field attachment, graduate admission exams and graduation. At the 73rd graduation ceremony of Makerere University, the School presented a total of 249 graduands of which 23 were awarded Master of Laws degrees and 226 awarded Bachelor of Laws degrees. To make our graduate programmes more relevant and competitive, we revised the Master of Laws programme and the Doctor of Laws programme. Additional to these revised programmes, in the course of next year, we expect to launch two new specialized Master of Laws degree programmes which are currently before the National Council for Higher Education for accreditation.

Students’ participation in moot court competitions is one of the major methodologies we employ in teaching our learners. Besides the learning, participation in moot competitions gives our learners exposure and provides them great opportunities for net-working. I am happy to report that in 2023, our students excelled in all the national and international moot court competitions they participated in. They won the Phillip Jessup International Moot Court Competitions national rounds and were supposed to represent Uganda at the international rounds but failed to secure visas in time. Our students also won the inaugural Gender and the Law moot competition. We emerged first runners-up in the Great Lakes International Humanitarian Law moot court competitions.

In the area of research, our faculty undertook a number of research projects and published many scholarly journal articles, books and reports on different subjects. I congratulate them for these research out puts. Among our major research outputs for 2023 is the edited book volume on Militarization and Development in Uganda. This publication unravels how militarization is taking place in the different sectors, the implications, and the hard choices Uganda has to make with respect to governance, human rights and economic development.

With respect to community outreach, our faculty and students participated in a number of initiatives and activities that were undertaken by our different units in particular, the Public Interest Law Clinic (PILAC), the Refugee Law Project (RLP) and the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC). Among these include: training of University staff and other stakeholders on refugee rights and duties; training of police officers on disability rights and the law; legal aid camp for students and staff of Makerere University; participation in the Uganda Law Society (ULS) probono day; and conducting the Administrative Law short course in various parts of the country. In addition to providing learning opportunities to students who participate in them, our community outreach activities are very important for making our School more relevant in terms of empowering the local communities and addressing some of their legal-related challenges and needs.

I thank the Government of Uganda, Makerere University Council, Makerere University Top Administration and all our partners and well-wishers for your support that enabled us to implement numerous activities and achieve the highlighted outputs. I also thank colleagues in the administration at our School, staff and students for participating in the different activities.

As We Build for the Future

Ronald Naluwairo, PhD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & PRINCIPAL

To listen: huripec.mak.ac.ug/huripectalks

#HURIPECTalks is a podcast hosted by HURIPEC. It explores various issues shaping Uganda today and offers a platform where academics at the School of Law and beyond can share their research and reflections on a multitude of topics. The main objective of the podcast is to broaden avenues for dialogue, knowledge production and knowledge exchange with a view towards solving some of the most pertinent challenges facing Uganda, Africa and the world. The podcast is anchored in analyses on human rights, sustainable development, conflict resolution, gender equality, constitutional law, social justice, among others.

This first HURIPECTalks podcast series on law, militarisation, peace and development defines militarism and militarisation and explores how these phenomena have manifested throughout Uganda’s history and present. It examines how militarism and militarisation are impacting rule of law, policy and politics as well as the economy and society, and how they are shaping gender relations, youth expressions and aspirations.  The series also unpacks theories of Pan Africanism and decolonisation in relation to militarisation and militarism, and how they influence peace in Uganda and in the broader African context. The different episodes in this series suggest ways in which Uganda can balance the role of the military in operations other than war, such as development and security roles, while preserving democratic agendas and aspirations towards inclusivity, balanced civil military relations and sustainable peace in Uganda

About the Guests

Mr. James Nkuubi, practices Constitutional and human rights law and democratization in Africa through teaching, research, writing and strategic activism with particular focus on security sector reform, citizenry resilience and liberative politics in Africa. James also lends a great deal of his professional acumen and time to human rights initiatives and campaigns across Uganda. He has previously chaired the Civil and Political Rights Working Group under the Network for Public Interest Lawyers, based at the School of Law, Makerere University-using public interest litigation to counter, mitigate and combat social injustice, human rights and constitutional law transgressions by the State. James holds a Masters’ Degree in human rights and democratization in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria and currently an LLD student focusing on Militarization, peace and sustainable development, under a programme administered jointly at the Department of Political Science, Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts (CRIC), University of Copenhagen-Denmark and the Human Rights and Peace Center, School of Law, Makerere-University, Kampala-Uganda. James has published journal articles and book chapters on the subjects of militarization, electoral security, citizenry resistance to State-led militarism among others.

Dr. Christopher Mbazira is a Professor of Law at the School of Law, Makerere University. He is also the Coordinator of the Public Interest Law Clinic (PILAC) at the same School and a founding member of the Network of Public Interest Lawyers (NETPIL). He previously chaired of the Rule of Law Committee of the Uganda Law Society.  He was one of 9 academics who approached the Supreme Court of Uganda and were admitted as amici in the 2016 Presidential Election Petition. This has resulted into positive jurisprudence on the subject of Amicus Curae. Prof. Mbazira has written and spoken widely on the subject of socio-economic rights in the context of the judicial application of these rights as well as public interest litigation. Since 2018, Prof Mbazira has supported the National Planning Authority (NPA) in integrating the Human Rights Based Approach in the country’s development agenda. Prof Mbazira has consulted with international agencies, including the United Nations on human rights and governance matters. In 2021, Prof Mbazira won the Uganda Law Society Award for his distinguished service in legal education in Uganda. Prof Mbazira has been key in introducing the use of the clinical methodology of teaching the law and building a community of public interest lawyers in Uganda. Prof Mbazira holds an LLB from Makerere University, an LLM in Human Rights from the University of Pretoria and a PhD from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. In 2015, Christopher was a co-recipient of the Vera Chirwa Award given by the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, for his outstanding contribution in the promotion of socio-economic rights in Africa.

Mr. Godber W. Tumushabe is a lawyer, policy analyst, community organizer and social entrepreneur. He teaches international law, international and regional human rights, and environmental law. He is the founding Executive Director of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (2000-2013) and is currently Associate Director at the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies (GLISS), a Kampala-based regional think tank. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB) and a Master of Laws Degree (LLM) from Makerere University, and a Juridical Science Master (JSM) Degree from Stanford Law School, Stanford University. He previously worked with the African Centre for Technology Studies in Kenya (1997-1999) where he directed Africa-wide projects on environmental governance. Godber Tumushabe has published widely on a wide range of domestic and international policy areas. He is co-author of Governing the Environment: Political Change and Natural Resources Management in Eastern and Southern Africa and Unlocking Africa’s Future: Biotechnology and Law.

Dr. Zahara Nampewo is a lawyer and human rights practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in the private, public and non – profit sectors. She has been with the School of Law at Makerere University since 2006. She is the Deputy Principal of the School of Law. Dr. Nampewo received her PhD from Emory University in the United States. Her PhD research focus followed a feminist socio-legal examination of law and culture on how women’s sexuality is articulated within the social domains of family and marriage. She holds a Master of Laws degree (International Human Rights) from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and an advanced Diploma in Human Rights Protection from Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. She completed her Bar Course and acquired a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Uganda in 1999. She is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda. Dr. Nampewo’s areas of interest and expertise include human rights, health justice, gender and transitional justice. She teaches and practices in Health Law, International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights and Gender Law. Dr. Nampewo has published on a range of subjects including health and disability justice, gender and family law, sexuality, human rights and access to justice.

Mr. Ndebesa Mwambustya is a Political Analyst and former Senior Lecturer of History and Development Studies in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHUSS), Makerere University.

Professor Joshua Rubongoya is anaccomplished liberal arts college Professor (Ph.D. University of Denver) with over 24 years of instructional and administrative expertise. Responsible for lectures, seminars, workshops and student trips to Africa for hands-on experiential learning. Served as Department Chairperson for 3 years in an academic department of 6 full-time and 4 adjunct professors and managed inter alia the Department budget, new faculty recruitment and curricula revisions in addition to liaising with the Academic Dean. Committed to research; authored Regime Hegemony in Museveni’s Uganda: Pax Musevenica, journal and newspaper articles/reviews and book chapters. Experience also includes consultancies for organizations such as the World Bank and Danida in several areas: political economy, democratic governance and party politics in Uganda. Also served as political analyst on Uganda TV including NTV and WBS.

Dr. Jimmy Spire Ssentongo is a Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Makerere University, where he has taught since 2011. Jimmy is a member of Makerere University Press Editorial Board, since 2018 and a Coordinator of Ethics in the Department. Previously, he was an Associate Professor of Ethics and Identity Studies at Uganda Martyrs University, where he variously served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Associate Dean in Charge of Research and Publication at the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research; and founding Chair of the Center for African Studies. Jimmy has edited two book volumes and widely published in peer-reviewed journals, book volumes, and monographs. With a strong belief that academics should be actively engaged in their communities, Jimmy has served as a Columnist and Editorial Cartoonist for the Observer Newspaper since 2006. In 2021, he won the national Janzi Award for Outstanding Cartoonist, and also nominated for Outstanding Non-Fiction Writer. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University for Humanistic Studies (Holland), and was a winner of the Commonwealth Scholarship for MSc in Education for Sustainability at London South Bank University where he won the Dean’s Award for Best Student on the programme. Most recently, Jimmy won a fellowship on the African Humanities Program (2019-2020) and was also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cambridge (2019- 2020). He is a facilitator on the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung ‘Youth Leadership Programme’ on ‘Managing Diversity’ since 2017. He was recently appointed to the Board of the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda and also serves as the current Chairman of the Board of Padre Pio Rural Development Initiative (PAPIRUDEI).

The Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC), School of Law, Makerere University invites excellent and motivated candidates for a doctoral position in climate policies and law. The position is part of the DANIDA funded research project titled: “Charcoal Conflict in Climate Change’s Decarbonisation Dilemmas: Knots of Livelihood, Nutrition, Communities, Gender, Migration and Energy in East Africa”. The successful applicant will join a vibrant international research environment and enrol at the School of Law, Makerere University. The studies are expected to begin on 1 November 2023. The scholarship position is for 4 years ending on 30^th November 2027.

The Project “Charcoal Conflict in Climate Change’s Decarbonisation Dilemmas” explores the conflict potential in green transitions in Uganda and Tanzania, with a special attention to the ways charcoal is embedded in local communities and therefore tied up with food, health, gender, youth, migration, ethnic relations and the informal economy. Local level field work in select regions within the two countries is connected to on the one hand analyses of the political and legal frameworks in the two countries and on the other hand the global climate management regime, formal and informal, that increasingly puts low-emission countries under pressure of energy transitions.

The candidate selected for the advertised doctoral position will principally contribute to the project by developing her or his original analysis of Uganda and Tanzania’s legal and policy frameworks as they relate to the social and economic dynamics of charcoal under the terrain of relevant laws and polices mapped out by global climate regimes. This will happen in close collaboration with the research teams in Uganda, Tanzania and Denmark, which include: one other PhD from Tanzania, Post-Doctoral researchers and senior scholars from the three countries.

The project is a collaboration between three partners: The Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC) a semi-autonomous department under the School of Law at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda; St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), a private University in Mwanza, Tanzania, contributing expertise in health, gender and peace studies; The Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts (CRIC) at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, a hub for peace and conflict research in Denmark.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Doctoral student is expected to:

• Develop an independent research project for an LLD thesis that covers the local levels of the project (Uganda and Tanzania) in a way that productively supports the overarching project and the other sub-projects.
• Participate actively in the development of the CHARCOAL CONFLICT project and its academic activities, including collaborating in refining the project design and methodology and further developing the theoretical framework
• Prepare and participate in joint publications and workshops and help make an impact on the scholarly and public debate on global climate politics and (in)justice
• Travel to Tanzania and Denmark for annual retreats, participate in field trips and possibly stay for some periods at partner universities.
• Assist in carrying out administrative and coordination duties associated with the project, including interim reporting to DANIDA, co-organisation of workshops, the project website and initiating new initiatives.

Your Competencies and Opportunities

• The applicant must be Ugandan and must have a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from a recognized university. Candidates who display knowledge of de-colonial and critical legal theory approaches to the field of study will have an added advantage. Applicants must be motivated, creative and mature and should display enthusiasm and good interpersonal and communication skills. They must display good knowledge of East Africa, its laws and policies especially as they relate to the social, economic and political dynamics of charcoal, renewable energy transitions and climate change in the region.

Other possible competences include:

• A good grasp of relevant academic literature
• Strong academic writing skills
• The ability to work independently as well as collaborate with other members of a research team
• An ability to work across disciplines and in an international context.

Scope of the Scholarship

The Scholarship will cover the following:

1. Full Tuition fees for up to four years
2. A generous monthly stipend for the duration of the doctoral studies.
3. Research period of 3 months at CRIC in Denmark
4. Full access to the Danish Library and other connected libraries.
5. Extra and thorough supervisory research support from senior academics under the project at HURIPEC, SAUT & CRIC.

Other benefits:

• Being part of an ambitious team that aims to produce high quality research with significant policy relevance.
• The opportunity to develop an independent research agenda within the overall project.
• Being part of a strong multidisciplinary research environment within Law, Sociology, International Relations and Conflict Research.
• Get the opportunity to see typical Northern research agendas challenged by excellent scholars from East Africa and being part of this team.
• Funding for participation on project relevant conferences.

Instructions for Application

Applicants should submit a 5 page concept note of their planned thesis exploring any of the project themes and objectives but with an emphasis on the social–economic impact of the legal and policy frameworks on charcoal in the clean energy transition discourses in both Uganda and Tanzania. The concept should include key questions, a theoretical framework, methodology and how the planned thesis will add to already existing research. The concept note should also comprise a preliminary bibliography and a preliminary study plan. All applications will be reviewed by an appraisal committee following which the successful applicants will appear before an expert panel for further assessment. The successful candidate will be asked to fulfil the admission requirements at Makerere University before submitting a full proposal.

Assessment Criteria

The following criteria will be followed when shortlisting candidates for assessment:

1. Relevant qualifications and knowledge to the proposed area of study
2. Research qualifications relevant to the overall research project.
3. Quality and feasibility of the concept note
4. Originality and creativity of the research concept.
5. Significance of the research in respect to any of the following issues:
   • (i) The special need addressed in society / discipline.
   • (ii) Providing a solution to an existing problem
   • (iii) Improvement of a critical service
   • (iv) Proposal for alternative best practice or cost effectiveness
   • (v) Contribution to a strategic goal or global issue
6. Performance (grades obtained) in graduate and post-graduate studies.

Concept notes together with the accompanying documents should be submitted electronically to the following E-mails: sylnamwase84@gmail.com copying busingye.kabumba@amugalu

The following are the required accompanying documents:

1. A Cover Letter addressed to the HURIPEC Director, detailing your motivation and background for applying for the LLD programme.
2. A work plan demonstrating ability to complete the LLD programme in less than or within four years.
3. A CV including list of publications, where available.
4. Recommendation from at least one senior academic in a recognised institution of higher learning.

The application must be submitted electronically. Deadline for applications is: 15^th October 2023.

View on HURIPEC