Joe Oloka-Onyango is a Ugandan

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He is a Professor of Law at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

School of Law where he has also formerly been

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and Director of the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC). He is married to Prof Sylvia Tamale, also a

and activist. They have two sons; Kwame Sobukwe Ayepa and Samora Okech Sanga.

Early life

Oloka-Onyango studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and attained his post-graduate

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

(bar course award) from the

Law Development Center The Law Development Centre (LDC) is an educational institution in Uganda for higher learning that offers various legal courses ranging from one month to one year. Overview The LDC is the only institution in Uganda that offers the Bar Course leadi ...

in Kampala, before earning his

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree. Australia The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...

degrees at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He is a scholar of

Constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

in the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n context.

Career

Prof Oloka-Onyango previously served as a member of the UN

Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (before 1999, known as the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) was a think tank of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It was wou ...

, as UN Special Rapporteur on Globalization and Human Rights, as well as consultant to the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

and the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

. He also serves on the advisory or governing boards of non-profit human rights organizations in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

. He has been a visiting professor at various universities around the world, including

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and the

United Nations University The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thro ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In 2014–2015, he spent his sabbatical as Fulbright Professor at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

(GWU) in the USA and Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Studies (STIAS) in South Africa. Prof Oloka-Onyango's

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

ial Inaugural Lecture, entitled Ghosts & the Law, contained a detailed analysis of the origins, manifestations and intricacies of the

Political Question Doctrine In United States constitutional law, the political question doctrine holds that a constitutional dispute that requires knowledge of a non-legal character or the use of techniques not suitable for a court or explicitly assigned by the Constitution ...

in Uganda and its closely related co-concept of

Public Interest Litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...

and together, their impact on

, the Doctrine of Separation of Powers, enforcement of fundamental

Human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

, judicial independence, the phenomenon of "Presidentialism" and other aspects of modern state life. Within this lecture, he also extensively reviewed the historic precedent in

Uganda v Commissioner of Prisons, Ex Parte Matovu ''Uganda v. Commissioner of Prisons, Ex Parte Michael Matovu,'' 9661 EA 514, is a decision of the High Court of Uganda in which Hans Kelsen's ''"General Theory on Law and State"'' and the Political Question Doctrine were considered in determining ...

and its effects on Ugandan jurisprudence to-date. On May 5, 2016, he took lead when he made the inaugural staff lecture at the

School of Law, presenting a paper entitled "Enter the Dragon, Exit a Myth: The Contested Candidacy of John Patrick Amama Mbabazi". On May 9, 2016, Prof Oloka-Onyango and 8 other law dons from

School of Law successfully filed an application before the

Supreme Court of Uganda The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the 1995 Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court with original jurisdiction in only one type of case: a presidential electi ...

for leave to intervene in Uganda's 2017 Presidential election petition, ''

Amama Mbabazi John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, SC (simply known as Amama Mbabazi, born 16 January 1949) is a Ugandan politician who served as the ninth Prime Minister of Uganda from 24 May 2011 to 19 September 2014. He played an instrumental role in Uganda's pro ...

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

& the Electoral Commission, as

Amici Curiae An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

. This became the first time in Ugandan electoral history that the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

heard and granted an application for such leave. The nine law dons were; Oloka-Onyango,

Sylvia Tamale Sylvia Rosila Tamale is a Ugandan academic, and human rights activist in Uganda. She was the first female dean in the Law Faculty at Makerere University, Uganda. Marriage She is married to Joe Oloka-Onyango a professor of law at Makerere Univ ...

, Christopher Mbazira, Ronald Naluwairo, Rose Nakayi,

Busingye Kabumba Busingye Kabumba (born 12 June 1982) is a Ugandan lawyer and poet. He is a Lecturer-in-Law, Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC), at the Faculty of Law, Makerere University and a Consulting Partner with M/S Development Law Associates.

, Daniel Ruhwheza, Kakungulu Mayambala and Daniel Ngabirano. As part of their submission, the law dons recommended to the

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

the use of structural interdicts or supervisory injunctions to deal with the persistent disregard of its recommendations by the Electoral Commission and the State in matters of the electoral process. In its ruling, the

stated that; ''"We are satisfied that the applicants have proven record in the area of Human Rights, Constitutionalism and Good Governance. They are highly experienced and widely researched legal scholars in these and related matters as evidenced by the attached curricula vitae."''

Cases

Prof Oloka-Onyango is an active litigant and has been involved in various cases of Constitutional importance and relevance to the Human rights field. He was the lead petitioner in Constitutional Petition No. 8 of 2014, ''"Oloka-Onyango & 9 Others v. the Attorney General"'', before the Constitutional Court wherein the Anti Homosexuality Act of 2014 was declared void. He was also one of the petitioners in Constitutional Petition No. 2 of 2003, ''"Uganda Association of Women Lawyers & 5 Others v. the Attorney General"'' which successfully challenged the Constitutional validity of several provisions of Uganda's Divorce Act for being contrary to the Constitutionally guaranteed rights to equality of all persons regardless of sex and the rights of women.

Works

Some of Prof Oloka-Onyango's works include: * ''Politics, Democratization and Academia in Uganda: The Case of Makerere University'' (Daraja Press, 2021) * An Overview of the Legal System in Uganda * The National Resistance Movement,“Grassroots Democracy”, and Dictatorship in Uganda * ''Controlling Consent: Uganda's 2016 Elections'' – Edited by J. Oloka-Onyango and Josephine Ahikire (2016) * "When Courts Do Politics" (Cornell University, 2016) * "Enter the Dragon, Exit a Myth: The Contested Candidacy of John Patrick Amama Mbabazi" (2016) * "From Expulsion to Exclusion" (2016) * "Befriending the Judiciary: Behind and Beyond the 2016 Supreme Court Amicus Curiae Rulings in Uganda" – J Oloka-Onyango and Christopher Mbazira (2016) * "Battling over Human Rights: Twenty Essays on Law, Politics and Governance" (Langaa Publishing, 2015) * "Debating Love, Politics and Identity in East Africa: The Case of Kenya and Uganda" in the African Journal of Human Rights (2015) * "Human Rights and Public Interest Litigation in East Africa: A Bird's Eye View" in the George Washington University International Law Review (2015) * "Unpacking the African Backlash to The International Criminal Court (ICC): The Case of Uganda and Kenya" (2015) * "Police Powers, Politics and Democratic Governance in Post-Movement Uganda (2011) * Beyond the rhetoric: reinvigorating the struggle for economic and social rights in Africa * Heretical Reflections on the Right to Self-Determination: Prospects and Problems for a Democratic Global Future in the New Millenium * Civil society and the political economy of foreign aid in Uganda * The question of Buganda in contemporary Ugandan politics * The plight of the larger half: Human rights, gender violence and the legal status of refugee and internally displaced women in Africa * Human rights, the OAU Convention and the refugee crisis in Africa: Forty years after Geneva * Constitutional transition in Museveni's Uganda: new horizons or another false start? * Bitches at the academy: Gender and academic freedom at the African university * Uganda's 'Benevolent'Dictatorship * Police Powers, Human Rights and the State in Kenya and Uganda: A Comparatice Analysis * The place and role of the OAU Bureau for refugees in the African refugee crisis * The Dynamics of Corruption Control and Human Rights Enforcement in Uganda: The Case of the Inspector General of Government * Uganda: studies in living conditions, popular movements, and constitutionalism * Decentralization without human rights?: local governance and access to justice in post-movement Uganda. * Who's watching'Big Brother'? Globalisation and the protection of cultural rights in present-day Africa * Governance, Democracy and Development in Uganda Today: A socio-legal Examination * Poverty, human rights and the quest for sustainable human development in structurally-adjusted Uganda * Forced Displacement and the Situation of Refugee and Internally Displaced Women in Africa * Movement-Related Rights in the Context of Internal Displacement * 'Taming'the President: Some Critical Reflections on the Executive and the Separation of Powers in Uganda * Development Financing: The Case of the Uganda Development Bank. * Age-based discrimination and the rights of the elderly in Uganda: conference paper * Obote: A Political Biography * The personal is political, or why women's rights are indeed human rights: An African perspective on international feminism * Liberalization Without Liberation: Understanding the Paradoxes of Opening the Political Spaces in Uganda * Pastoralism, crisis and transformation in Karamoja.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oloka-Onyango, Joe 1960 births Living people Academic staff of Makerere University 20th-century Ugandan lawyers Makerere University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Luo people 21st-century Ugandan lawyers