Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya (née Olive Kazaarwe), is a Ugandan lawyer and judge who, serves as the Commission Secretary of the presidential ''Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters in Uganda'', established by president Yoweri Museveni in December 2016. Immediately prior to her appointment to this commission, she served as a Registrar, in the ''Planning and Development Division'' of the

Judiciary of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

. There she oversaw the implementation of a multi-million dollar "Good Governance Project", funded by a donation from

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...

, to the

Government of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

Background and education

She graduated from the Faculty of Law of Makerere University, Uganda's largest and oldest public university, with a Bachelor of Laws, circa 1997. The following year, she was awarded a

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 ...

by the Law Development Centre, in Kampala, Uganda's capital city. She also holds a Diploma in Public Administration, obtained from the Uganda Management Institute, also in Kampala.

Career

After her admission to the Uganda Bar in 1999, she took up employment with the law firm of ''Ruyondo & Company Advocates'', working there for one year, as an Associate Attorney. In 2000, she was appointed as a Grade One Magistrate, serving in that capacity until 2004. She was then promoted to Senior Grade One Magistrate, serving there for four years, from 2004 until 2008. In 2009, she left the bench and went to work as the personal assistant to then Deputy Chief Justice Laetitia Mukasa Kikonyogo, for a period of one year. In 2010, she was promoted to Chief Magistrate. She served in that capacity in the Hoima Court Circuit and the Buganda Road Courts in Kampala, for four years. In 2014, she was posted to the ''Inspectorate of Courts Division'', as an Assistant Registrar, working there briefly before she took up assignment at the

-funded project.She is now a Judge at Land Division of the High Court

Commission of inquiry

On 8 December 2016, president Yoweri Museveni appointed a seven-person Commission of Inquiry into the current laws affecting the acquisition, registration, management, use and sale of land in Uganda. He selected Justice

Catherine Bamugemereire Catherine Bamugemereire is a Ugandan lawyer and judge who, since 2015, has served as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Uganda, which doubles as Uganda's Constitutional Court. Background and education She was born in Bubulo, in the then Mbale ...

as the commission's chairperson and Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya as the secretary. The commission was sworn in on Tuesday 21 February 2017. The "Uganda Land Commission of Inquiry" started its hearings in May 2017, with its final report expected in January 2018, six months from its first hearing.

Other consideration

Ms Kazaarwe is an External Examiner at the Law Development Centre. She is also the Secretary of the National Association of Women Judges of Uganda, a professional group. On 7 February 2018, president Yoweri Museveni appointed Olive Kazaarwe to the High Court of Uganda, pending parliamentary approval.

References

External links