ULS SPEECH: 19 October 2012

Opening remarks:

1. Firstly, I would like to thank the Uganda Law Society Women Lawyers in

general and the ULS Women Lawyers Committee in particular for a

spectacular evening and for choosing to honor me with this award from

amongst so many other deserving candidates.

2. Secondly, I wish to thank my brother and dear friend, the Hon. Justice

Geoffrey Kiryabwire for his very kind words of introduction. Justice

Kiryabwire and I go a long way and although I am many years his senior,

he has an uncanny way of following in my footsteps career-wise and so I

am very careful about my next step as I don’t want to mislead him!!!

3. Thirdly, I want to warmly welcome you to this memorable evening. A

special welcome to the VIPs and members of my family who no doubt,

have taken precious time out of your busy schedules to share in our

celebration. [Special mention? KLM, introduce family members?]

4. The month of October 2012 is of special significance to as we celebrate

our 50th Independence Anniversary. I take this opportunity also to thank

God for all that he has brought us through as a nation. Many of you were

not yet born in 1962 when we attained self-determination and probably

have little idea of what Uganda looked like way back then. Those of you

who were around will agree with me that Uganda was truly beautiful.

Cities like Kampala, Jinja, Mbale, Masaka, Gulu and Lira were vibrant! We

have as a nation undergone serious transformation. Congratulations to

the ULS on your achievements over the last 50 years.

However, this is also a time to reflect on our achievements, failures,

shortcomings and to refocus and set new goals. It is imperative that we

audit our performance and growth as a nation if we are to face the future

with renewed hope for growth and development. As I was preparing what

I would say tonight, I considered sharing something that would be

interesting and beneficial to my colleagues in the legal profession. I could

tell you about the wonderful educational institutions that I went to or the

rare career opportunities that I have had or the exciting assignments that

I have carried out, but that would probably be most boring as I am sure

you have already heard so much about them all. So I thought that I would

instead share some of the lessons that I have learnt on life’s journey with

the hope that these may perhaps help one or two of you in your own

journey through life. I would like to briefly share with you 10 lessons that

have helped me succeed in life.

It’s been said that Life is about opportunity, choice and timing

1. Be Visionary: Have a clear vision of what you want to do with your

life: Every successful career begins with a decision of what you want

to be or to do with your life, goals that you want to achieve, short-

term, mid-term, long-term. It must be your vision, not that of your

parents, peers or spouse because ultimately it’s you who will have to

bring it to reality. Without a vision for your life you will easily drift

through life, resentful and feeling as if you are simply existing and life

has short-changed you.

2. Be Resourceful: Make the most of the opportunities and resources

that life has given you. In a given position, take time to gather all the

skills, knowledge, experience that the position offers. There is no such

thing as useless skill or experience. [Example of judicial skills].

Gathering skills and experience often entails spending several years in

the same line of work. Remember that a rolling stone never gathers

moss! In my experience I consider a minimum of 3-5 years in the same

line of work absolutely necessary. [Examples: 13 years MOJ; 6 and 1/2

years Commonwealth; 9 years High Court; 7 years SCSL etc.] The

experience I have gathered in all these positions is the foundation

upon which I am now building further my career at the ICJ.] Also look

for opportunities to improve your qualifications. As you polish your

skills and consolidate your experience, keep your eyes open for

opportunities for upward mobility. [Examples of CFTC; SCSL, ICJ].

3. Be Daring: Life is about taking risks, and having the faith and courage

to follow your dreams through. Don’t be afraid to take risks. [Example

of CFTC job without a god father and while studying for my Masters

Degree; ICJ Campaign in 200 countries with no financial support and

to challenge 60 years of male domination]. I particularly want to

challenge you lady lawyers to start your own private practice rather

than seeking to be hired by your male colleagues. Remember they had

the same opportunities and training as you. Some of you even got

better grades. I know that there is the issue of “entandikwa”! Let

several of you get together and set up a firm to reckon with in the city!

After you set it up, start by charging the most competitive fees in town

and make sure your services to your clients are premier class! Within

five years I guarantee you will be a firm to reckon with! Think outside

the box of looking to be employed by someone all the time!

4. Be Tenacious: You need not be an intellectual genius to succeed in

this life. You simply to work hard and to diligently pursue your dream

with unwavering courage, fortitude, steadfastness and tenacity. You

see there is a big crowd of enemies waiting to see you fail and

sometimes actively working to pull you down. If you are not tenacious

you may easily give up. Let no one despise you on account of your age,

gender, tribe, race or any other stereotype out there. [Example: 30

years ago if some one had told me that a young girl from a humble

family in Kiwafu Village in Entebbe would one day be the first African

female judge in the World Court I would probably think they are

crazy!] By the way speaking of tenacity, I do not consider that I have

reached the pinnacle of my career yet. There are still one or two

Dreams on my “Bucket List” which, God willing will one day come to

pass!

5. Be Ambitious: In everything you do strive for excellence! If you want

to leave your mark in life you cannot afford to settle for mediocrity.

Do not do something simply because “everybody does it” or do it a

certain way just because “that’s the way everybody does it.” In practical

terms it may mean that as a lawyer you prepare better before going to

court, you are one of the few punctual lawyers in court even when the

Judge is late!

6. Be Discerning: It is important in life to focus on those things that

matter most. For example in a job, money is not everything. There are

other considerations such as job-satisfaction; opportunities for

scholarships; exposure and experience. [Example of internships in the

International Courts where people pay to stay in a job]. While we all

long for well-paying jobs you must accept that you may have to start

with humble beginnings and that instead, the skills and experience

you acquire from this seemingly poor-paying job are priceless!

[Example of the FPC experience and skills that got me the CFTC job].

Money is good and I applaud those of you who have worked hard and

earned good wealth. The danger of making money your objective is

that after a while, it will surely choke and overtake your dream and

vision.

7. Be Resilient: In life ugly things happen. You may meet situations

where you suffer racial, gender, tribal, religious or other kinds of

prejudices. Believe you me prejudice comes in as many shades as the

colors of the rainbow with those who reckon themselves higher up the

pecking order, lording it over those they reckon are lower down. Even

where a Statute clearly says the members of organization X are equal

or where UN Resolution 1325 clearly declares outlaws gender

discrimination, insecure human beings will find 101 ways to exalt

themselves above those they see as inferior, regardless. Are we to

allow these prejudices to stand in our way, of course not! Through

sheer resilience, you can face up to such challenges and instead of

wallowing in self pity you can choose to turn those mill-stones into

stepping stones to success. [Example of my experience at the SCSL].

Tips as to how to earn respect amongst equals – respect others,

honesty, integrity, punctuality, smartness, quality work, preparedness,

participation etc.

8. Be Humble: Arrogant people tend to rub everyone the wrong way. On

the other hand, there is nothing that impresses me more than people

who are high achievers and yet remain humble. In today’s Uganda

where we get all kinds of celebrities, [class A, B, C etc.] humble people

are endangered species! Humility simply means learning to keep your

success in perspective. Remember you are neither the first nor the last

to reach where you are!

9. Self-Critique: For one to grow in one’s career, you must learn

periodically to audit your performance. Take stock of your

achievements, failures, short-comings etc. with a view to identifying

those areas that need improvement. We all tend to stagnate at times. I

usually take my birthday or the beginning of a new year or a new job,

to take stock of my life and if necessary to realign my bearings. It has

helped me to keep growing and not to stagnate. Consider for example

taking a refresher course or actively look for new openings by way of

job adverts in the newspapers or the internet.

10. Worship: Honour God and honour your profession by serving your

fellow man faithfully. I believe the majority of us here do believe in a

power higher than ourselves. If I stood here today and told you that I

have achieved all these successes in my own strength, I would be the

greatest liar. When you honour God he not only guides your choices

but he also blesses and rewards your efforts. In my line of work, I

never walk into a courtroom trusting in my own abilities. I pray and

ask God to give me “the wisdom of Solomon” (i.e. knowing what to do

in a particular situation); to grant me favour amongst my peers and to

walk with me each day.

Conclusion: I would like to conclude by thanking once again the ULS Women

Lawyers Committee for this wonderful evening and by honouring the following

people with a small token of appreciation:

Mr. Mukasa Sebugenyi – President

Mr. Stephen Musisi – Vice President

Mr. Michael Okua – Chairperson, Members Affairs

Ruth Sebatindira – Chairperson, FLC

Sarah Lubega

Joyce Ngaiza

Alice Namuli

Carol Bonabana

Asumpta Kemigisha

Jane Magdalene Amooti