Patience Emily Tumusiime Rubagumya, (née Patience Tumusiime), 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 ...

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 ...

who was appointed as a judge to the

High Court of Uganda The High Court of Uganda, also Uganda High Court, is the third-highest court, judicial organ in Uganda, behind the Supreme Court of Uganda and the Court of Appeal of Uganda. It has "unlimited original jurisdiction", with powers to try any case o ...

in July 2023. Her first deployment on the bench was to the Commercial Division of the High Court. Before that, from November 2022 until July 2023 she served as the Corporation Secretary and Head of Legal Affairs at

Uganda Airlines Uganda Airlines is the flag carrier of Uganda. The company is a revival of the older Uganda Airlines which operated from 1977 until 2001. The current carrier began flying in August 2019. Location The company headquarters are located withi ...

, the country's national carrier. Before that, from February 2015 until November 2022, she was the Commissioner for Legal Services and Board Affairs at

Uganda Revenue Authority The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is a government revenue collection agency established by the Parliament of Uganda. Operating under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the URA is responsible for enforcing, assessing, ...

(URA), Uganda's revenue collection agency. She was appointed to that position on 1 February 2015, replacing

Doris Akol Doris Akol is a Ugandan lawyer and administrator. In December 2021, she was appointed as Technical Assistance Advisor at the International Monetary Fund, in Washington, DC, United States. Before that, she was a Partner at the Dentons' Kampala o ...

, who was appointed Commissioner General of the URA. Rubagumya also doubled as the Company Secretary at the tax agency.

Background and education

She was born in Uganda and attended local elementary and secondary schools. She holds a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree, awarded by

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 ...

, Uganda's oldest and largest

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

. She then obtained 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 ...

, from the

Law Development Centre 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 ...

. She was then admitted to the Uganda Bar, as a practicing attorney. Her degree of Master of Laws in Oil and Gas, was obtained from

Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU, is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthropist), ...

, in Scotland. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Taxation and Revenue Administration, awarded by the ''Uganda Revenue Authority Training School'', in Kampala. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

Ms Rubagumya spent over 20 years at the Uganda Revenue Authority, having taken up employment there in 2001. She rose through the ranks at the agency and was the ''Assistant Commissioner Board Affairs, Policy and Rulings'' at URA. She was judged to be the best applicant in a field of four candidates who interviewed for the position of Commissioner, Board Matters and Legal Affairs. In August 2017 at the URA, she was involved in the closure of three branches of Kenya-based Nakumatt Supermarkets, due to tax arrears amounting to "at least USh300 million (US$86,000), excluding accumulated interest for the past five years". That action effectively kicked Nakumatt out of Uganda.

Other considerations

In her position as "Commissioner for Legal Services and Board Affairs", she was member of "Senior Management" at URA. In her position as Company Secretary, she was a member of the board of directors of the tax agency.

Succession table

References

External links