Norbert Mao is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n political activist and lawyer. He has been president of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

since 2010, three time presidential candidate and he served as the

Local Council 5 A Local Council (LC) is a form of local elected government within the districts of Uganda. Background Uganda has been holding elections consistently for more than 30 years now, at the different levels including Presidential, Parliamentary, Di ...

chairman for

Gulu District Gulu is a City in the Northern Region of Uganda. The regional headquarters are located in the city of Gulu, which is also the administrative capital of Northern Uganda The city consist of two main divisions... Gulu west and Gulu east. Locatio ...

. He is the current minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the Ugandan government, an office he assumed on 21 July 2022. He was appointed to this position by

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 president of the Republic of Uganda. This appointment drew immense criticism from the Democratic Party, an opposition party he is currently serving as President. It was seen as a move by President Museveni to tame the Party and clip its wings to criticize his government.

Early life and education

Mao was born on 12 March 1967. His father, Dusman Okee Sr. (5 January 1942 – 3 January 2016), was Acholi and his mother was a

Munyankole Ankole (Runyankore: ''Nkore''), was a traditional Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward. History Ankole Kingdom is located in the South-Wester ...

. Mao attended Mwiri Primary School in Jinja and briefly went to Wairaka College in

Jinja District Jinja District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Jinja is the district's main municipal and commercial center. Location Jinja District is bordered by Kamuli District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Mayuge Dist ...

before attending

Namilyango College Namilyango College is a boys-only boarding middle and high school located in Mukono District in the Central Region of Uganda, whose history and excellence in sports and academics have made it one of the most prestigious schools in Uganda. It is ...

, a prestigious all-boys boarding high school in

Mukono District Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono is home to the district's main commercial center and district headquarters. Location Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the north, Jinja Distric ...

from 1982 until 1988. He then attended

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 ...

between 1988 until 1991, graduating with a law degree. He served as the president of the Makerere University Students Guild between 1990 and 1991. He went on to obtain the

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 ...

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 1992. In 2003, Mao was admitted to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, under the

Yale World Fellows Program Yale World Fellows is an international fellowship program at Yale University for rising global leaders. World Fellows come from around the world and from diverse disciplines. They are selected through a competitive application process. Each year ...

, where he spent one year at the

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

campus.

Career

From 1992 until 1994, Mao worked as an associate attorney in the offices of Kabugo and Company Advocates, a

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

-based law firm. Between 1994 and 1996, he worked as a legal counsel for the Legal Aid Project of the

Uganda Law Society The Uganda Law Society (ULS) is an association of lawyers charged with ensuring high levels of professionalism among lawyers in Uganda. Mission The Mission statement is: To Develop a Skilled and Empowered Legal Profession in Execution of its Sta ...

in their

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

office. In 1996, he was elected to the

Parliament of Uganda The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer t ...

, representing Gulu Municipality. While in parliament, he served on the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. He resigned from Parliament in 2006 and was elected chairman of Gulu District. Mao is chairman of the

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n chapter of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and member of its secretariat. Also, he helped found the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace (

AMANI Forum The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace, better known as the AMANI Forum, is an Africa-focused organization based in Nairobi, Kenya that works to promote peace and democracy, and to mitigate conflict in the African Great Lakes region. AMANI Fo ...

). He was instrumental in trying to bridge the gap between the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...

rebels and the Ugandan government by lobbying for the passage of a general

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

law aimed at bringing a peaceful resolution to armed conflict in northern Uganda. He belongs to the

and publicly indicated his intention to contest the 2011 Ugandan presidential elections, either as the nominee of his party or if not nominated on the party ticket, as an independent. He was elected as President of the Democratic Party on 20 February 2010 and ran for President of Uganda in the 2011 general election. The DP faced a lot of challenges that led to a split and deep polarization at the height of the election. He attracted only a small share of the vote, and President Yoweri Museveni was elected to another term. Mao and Inter Party Coalition presidential candidates

Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (born 22 April 1956), known as Colonel. Dr. Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician, and former military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force. He served as the president of the Forum for Democrati ...

and

Olara Otunnu Olara A. Otunnu (born 6 September 1950) is a Ugandan politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was President of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), a political party, from 2010 to 2015 and stood as the party's candidate in the 2011 presidential elect ...

, among others, protested the election results in spite of its early approval by international observers and the United States as largely free and fair. On 21 November 2020, Mao, along with fellow opposition presidential candidates

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also leads ...

Henry Tumukunde Henry Tumukunde is a politician and retired senior military officer of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). He ran as an independent for president in the 2021 Ugandan general election. He was the Minister of National Security in the Ca ...

Mugisha Muntu Gregory Mugisha Muntuyera, commonly referred to as Mugisha Muntu (born October 1958), is a Ugandan politician and retired military officer. He is the current President of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), a political party he founde ...

, and Patrick Amuriat Oboi, agreed to form an alliance. On 20 July 2022, Mao was appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs by president Museveni in a move that many sparked off debate about his allegiance to the opposition. On 28 July 2022, Mao sworn in at State house entebbe with President Museveni as the main witness.

Personal life

Mao was married to Naomi Achieng Odongo, and they have two sons together. They divorced on 27 May 2019, after 16 years of marriage. He speaks

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

Runyankole Nkore (also called Nkole, Nyankore, Nyankole, Orunyankore, Orunyankole, Runyankore and Runyankole) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken by the Nkole people, Nkore ("Banyankore") of south-western Uganda in the former province of Ankole, as ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

fluently. Mao is a step-brother to Daniel Kidega, the speaker of the

East African Legislative Assembly , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , foundation = 30 November 2001 , house_type = , body ...

References

External links

Website of Gulu District

Norbert Mao on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mao, Norbert 1967 births Living people Acholi people Ugandan activists 20th-century Ugandan lawyers Makerere University alumni People educated at Namilyango College Ugandan Roman Catholics People from Gulu District Government ministers of Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda Law Development Centre alumni People from Northern Region, Uganda Democratic Party (Uganda) politicians Leaders of political parties in Uganda