An image of a robot representing the development in AI (image not owned!)
The willingness to embrace AI has recently accelerated, with businesses even asserting to operate AI-monitored businesses even when they’re not simply because that’s the trend. The truth is we not only have to be excited about what the developments in technology come with but further embrace them to leave a positive mark. Big companies across the world have their systems regenerated with artificial intelligence and the assessment shows there is a clear advancement compared to when work would only be conducted by humans. The humanity in us comes with several components which include fatigue, plenty of work to attend to, making errors, and failing to beat deadlines, which is not the case with AI. An employee’s work rate may easily be influenced by his or her environment, and what they faced while away from work which isn’t the case with AI because anyway why would an algorithm have aside from what it has been set to do?
With the recent development of ChatGPT, AI is proving to be smarter, more timely, and clear than what was at our disposal recently to the extent of providing fine responses close to or even beyond human intelligence. I should say I wasn’t surprised when the New York City Department of Education banned the use of this chatbot by students and teachers for the fear of affecting their children’s learning. Much as there’s still a discussion that at times the chatbot gives wrong answers but is pretty framed to appear accurately correct, there’s no doubt its feedback will keep trying to beat human intelligence but the more it will be banned in different places until there will be no way. There’s a group of individuals who have even opted to refer to it for responses to questions, and opinions on topics and they go on to follow what it provides without any caution which I find worrying.
AI has been adopted in the health sector where it’s issuing prescriptions, business, and finance, transportation, law, among others through applications or websites that are accessed by customers, clients, or whatever term they’re referring to.
Much as these machine learning algorithms are trained and fed with the necessary data to adapt such intelligence upon which they work, that means they won’t acquire intelligence for any kind of data that they haven’t received. The most worrying part is there may not be an admission of ignorance from the AI such as a ChatBot the same way a doctor, lawyer, counselor, or any other may inform any prospective client how they don’t have specialisation in a particular field and maybe recommend them to another.
Has AI been designed or upgraded to create an emotional bond with a client where attending to such a client requires that? I don’t think so, but even when it’s upgraded to the same there may not be an advancement that could get better than a human interface.
Business owners should also assess the need for AI before bringing it in because if it doesn’t make one’s work better, it comes with a grossly negative impact. It shouldn’t be an escape route from hiring staff such as customer care managers but rather making their work simpler and better. As a country, unemployment is a very big problem; therefore, we don’t need to tolerate any advancements that could worsen it. Thou the bad news is, we may not be able to stop the change that is coming with AI since developed countries are restless about investing in its development with China’s Supreme People’s Court passing a directive to have the judicial sector supported by artificial intelligence save for writing judgments. This in itself is an indicator that even with the development of AI to whatever extent, it may take a while to trust it over human intelligence or intuition perhaps because some humane components cannot be generated in any artificial way.
The High Court of Uganda recently in the case of Aida Atiku v Centernary Rural Development Bank Ltd Civil Suit No. 0754 of 2020 made a ruling that brought about a development in the law that is governing online banking in Uganda in regard to fraud.
BRIEF FACTS
The plaintiff opened up an account with Centenary Bank with the help of her daughter who read for her all the necessary documents. The plaintiff had an eye impairment but never informed the defendant about it so that they could render any relevant help. In signing these documents, the plaintiff consented to Cente-Mobile which an online banking service for the defendant bank and a notification was sent to her phone through the phone number she used to open up the account. On different occasions, money withdraws were initiated through the plaintiff’s phone number but without the plaintiff’s knowledge or authorization. Other than the plaintiff, no other person accessed her phone other than her daughter and neither was her phone ever stolen. Notification messages were sent to the plaintiff’s number every time a withdraw was initiated but the plaintiff claimed she only received one notification. On realizing her money was missing from her account, the plaintiff approached the defendant bank requesting for a refund which resulted in to the suit.
ISSUES
Whether or not the plaintiff’s account was fraudulently and/or negligently debited by the defendant?
Whether or not the defendant is liable for the fraudulent and/or negligent withdraws made on the plaintiff’s account?
What remedies are available to the parties?
HIGHIGHTS FROM THE RULING
When a person of full age and understanding puts his or her signature to a legal document without taking the trouble of reading it or without asking the document to be read and explained to him or her. But rather goes on to sign the document relying on the word of another as to its character, content and effect then he or she cannot be heard to say that it is not his or her document. In this case, the plaintiff never informed the defendant bank of her eye impairment and since she went ahead to sign the document relying on what her daughter read hence she was bound by her signature and it represented her consent to all the services she signed up for.
Where there was no pressure applied by the defendant bank in procuring the plaintiff’s signature, such as where the customer was given the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice but the customer maintains a firm view that he/she wants to execute the instrument, the customer understood the nature and effect of the document, and the terms of the document are not unjust or unreasonable in anyway.
Under the doctrine of 𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑚 courts can set aside a transaction just in case the affected party can prove they had a special disadvantage that the other party knew about and that party used this disadvantage to exploit the affected party. Such disadvantage must be substantial enough to affect their ability to make a judgment as to their best interest and must have been sufficiently evident to the other party. In this case, the defendant bank was never informed about the plaintiff’s eye impairment and could not have used it to take advantage of her.
Banks have a duty to put in place robust fraud detention and prevention solutions to protect their assets, systems and customers. To take reasonable care to ensure that their digital banking systems and technology are secure and also to identify any suspicious transactions.
Digital bank customers have a duty to prevent fraudsters from gaining access to their personal login details. These are supposed to be kept confidential inclusive of user IDs, passwords, and pin numbers among others. Where it’s the customer that holds the blame for being reluctant on keeping such information confidential and resulting into bank fraud with the customer losing their money, the customer cannot receive any refund for the resultant loss.
Where the customer fails to change the temporary password that is shared by the bank immediately to one of their choice then they could be construed as being negligent.
The risk of loss for an unauthorized transaction lies with a customer if the bank can establish that the security procedure it has in place is a commercially reasonable method of providing security against unauthorized payment orders. The protection system of the defendant bank remained secure and could not be blamed for the loss, the fraud happened as a normal transaction initiated through the plaintiff’s phone number. The defendant bank sent notification messages to the plaintiff’s phone number after the transactions were made and the plaintiff could have reported the transaction to the defendant bank to find a way of stopping the same but didn’t. With this, the defendant bank could therefore not hold the blame for the same.
Losses attributable to fraud should be borne by the parties in the best position to stop them or prevent them. The withdraws from the plaintiff’s account were all initiated through the plaintiff’s account and there was no way the defendant bank could be suspicious of the transactions since the plaintiff never reported to the defendant bank even when notifications of the transaction were sent to the plaintiff’s phone number. The plaintiff therefore was in a better position to stop the fraud and had to bear the losses.
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
For additional information in relation to this article, please contact the author
US citizens riot after the Supreme Court Judgement that was to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked. We do not own this photo!
Abortion is the intentional termination of pregnancy. Usually abortion is conducted through expulsion of the fetus from the uterus before it has reached the state of viability (in human beings it’s usually about the 20th week of gestation). In the same regard, an abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may be brought on purposefully, in which case it is often called an induced abortion.
WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE LAW ON ABORTION IN UGANDA?
Abortion in Uganda is guided by the provisions of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda (As Amended) and the Penal Code Act Cap 120.
Abortion as an act in Uganda isn’t welcome and therefore unacceptable not just by the law but also the moral or the traditional understanding.
The Constitution of Uganda which is the Supreme law of the land is very clear on where it provides that no person has a right to terminate the life of an unborn child except as provided by the law under Article 22(2).
The Penal Code Act also specifies clearly that abortion or killing an unborn baby is illegal as of Section 212. The Penal Code Act under Section 141 also makes procuring an abortion a felony.
Therefore, the laws of Uganda make it illegal to commit an abortion as an unborn baby also has and should enjoy a right to life.
A street abortion advertisement. (We don’t own this photo)
ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS IN THE LAW?
The Constitution doesn’t allow abortion unless there is an exception which is provided in the law.
You should understand that abortion could only be acceptable only in circumstances of preserving life and physical or mental health of the pregnant woman as provided for under Section 224 of the Penal Code. [1] This exception may also include some cases of sexual violence.[2] The Guidelines that clearly provided for safe abortion under circumstances of sexual violence where however with drawn by government and not operational. This therefore means that the only acceptable health exception is the one that includes preservation of the life of a pregnant woman.
WHAT IS THE STATE OF ABORTION IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS?
KENYA
According to the Constitution, abortion is illegal and unacceptable with an exception of the opinion of a trained health professional that there’s need for an emergency treatment or that the life of the pregnant woman is in danger or where the law permits so as provided of under Article 26(4) of the Constitution. Just like it was with Uganda, the Ministry of Health in Kenya passed Guidelines for managing and preventing unintended pregnancies and the provision of post-abortion. The Guidelines were however withdrawn in 2013.
The High Court in Malindi however recently in PAK and Salim Mohammed v. Attorney General et al Constitutional Petition E009 of 2020 affirmed that abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution and that arbitrary arrests and prosecution of patients and health care providers for seeking or offering abortion services are illegal. The Court also directed the Kenyan parliament to enact an abortion law and public policy framework that aligns with the Constitution.
THE UNITES STATES OF AMERICA(USA)
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 24: Abortion rights activists react to the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health overturns the landmark 50-year-old Roe v Wade case and erases a federal right to an abortion. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The state of abortion in the US has been subject to public scrutiny in the past months even before the Supreme Court ruling came in a few days back. The Supreme Court set a precedent in Roe v Wade (1973) that stood for over years until it was overturned recently. In this case, the Supreme Court held that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion was unconstitutional, in effect legalizing abortion for any reason for women in the first three months of pregnancy. Different judgments recognized the legality of state restrictions on abortion but avoided overruling Roe v Wade and these were Webster v Reproductive Health Services (1989) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
The new standing now as of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) is that there is nothing like a constitutional right to conduct an abortion hence overturning Roe v Wade. I won’t be looking at the impact this ruling will or has made to the laws in states where abortion still remains legal.
CONCLUSION.
The state of abortion in different countries is different with either abortion being legal or illegal. In countries where it’s illegal, there are exceptions to the same and where it is legal there are guidelines to be followed.
In Uganda, abortion is clearly illegal as discussed above but there are exceptions to that. However, the legal provisions to some exceptions remain unclear to this moment.
Disclaimer
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
For additional information in relation to this article, please contact the author
[1] HRAPF Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum: The Enforcement of Criminal Abortion Laws in Uganda and its Impact on the Human Rights of Women and Health Workers, Final Version, December 2016
[2] Center for Reproductive Rights Briefing Paper: A Technical Guide to Understanding the Legal and Policy Framework on Termination of Pregnancy in Uganda (2012) 24-25, 35-36.
The Inspector General of Government(IGG) was conducting investigations on the Secretary of the Uganda Land Commission. The IGG therefore wrote a letter to the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development instructing the Minister to interdict or cause interdiction of the applicant as she could interfere with the investigations against her in regard to the Land Fund. The Minister proceeded to write a letter interdicting the applicant from all her duties as the Secretary of the Uganda Land Commission. The Applicant therefore filled a suit against the Attorney General seeking judicial review of the Minister’s decision where she exercised powers not vested in her.
ISSUES:
Whether there was a cause of action for judicial review by the court?
Whether there were any remedies for the applicant?
RULING:
According to Sect. 24 of the Interpretation Act, the authority that has the power to appoint had the same power that could affect the same appointment such as suspend, re-appoint and re-instate. Therefore, since the Applicant was appointed by the President, such powers to interdict her were with the President.
That the letter from the IGG to the Minister only provided her with options as the IGG could not self-effect such powers.
That the Minister was only supposed to bring the recommendations of the IGG to the President and rather not act as she did since the powers to do so were not provided by the law.
That a statutory authority must be permitted to perform it’s statutory functions in respect whereof even any other higher authority cannot issue any direction.
That there must be a legitimate authorization in an enabling provision for each activity that an administrator does. If such authorization is not present, the administrative action will be illegal.
Therefore, the Minister by interdicting the Applicant from all her duties acted out of the confines of her powers and did so unlawfully hence court quashing such Minister’s orders to interdict the Applicant.
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
For additional information in relation to this article, please contact the author
Temporary injunctions and interim injunctions/orders are different much as their enforcement maybe likely similar. An application for interim order is made by an applicant where there is a substantive application for a temporary injunction whose hearing is pending. Therefore, an application for an interim order is only made after an application for a temporary injunction has been made.
An interim injunction/order has been defined by Arach-Amoko, JA in HON. ANIFA BANGIRANA KAWOOYA V ATTORNEY GENERAL & ANOTHER MISC. APPLIC. NO. 46 OF 2010 that, “an interim injunction is a discretionary order issued by court for a short time, and usually to a particular date pending the determination of the main application.”
Powers to grant an interim order are derived from Sect. 98 of the Civil Procedure Act which provides court with inherent powers to make any such orders and Sect. 33 of the Judicature Act Cap 13.
The powers to grant a temporary injunction are derived from Sect. 38(1) of the Civil Procedure Act. An order of temporary injunction is granted so as to prevent ends of justice from being defeated as was noted in KYAGULANYI SSENTAMU V COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF URA MISC. APPL. NO. 150/2021.
HERE ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING A TEMPORARY INJUCTION.
Odoki CJ (As he was then) in E.L.T KIYIMBA KAGGWA VERSUS HAJI ABDU NASSER KATENDE [1985] HCB 43 laid down the rules regarding the granting of a temporary injunction where he noted that, “The granting of a temporary injunction is an exercise of judicial discretion and the purpose of granting it is to preserve the matters in the status quo until the question to be investigated in the main suit is finally disposed of.”
The conditions are as follows;
That the applicant must show a primafacie case which has a likelihood of success. Hon. Lady Justice Esta Nambayo in KAGUMAHO KAKUYO VERSUS SHILLA NINSIIMA MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. NO. 13 OF 2020 noted that the court must be satisfied that the dispute presented in the main or head suit is not a sham but a genuine dispute and that the Applicant has probabilities of succeeding in the main suit. Court in VICTOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS LTD V UGANDA NATIONAL ROADS AUTHORITY HCMA NO. 601OF 2010 noted that a prima facie case with a probability of success is no more than that the Court must be satisfied that the claim is not frivolous or vexatious or in other words that there is a serious question to be tried.
That such an injunction will not normally be granted unless an applicant might otherwise suffer irreparable injury which would not adequately be compensated by an award of damages. Court in KIYIMBA KAGGWA V HAJJI ABDU NASSER KATENDE [1985] HCB 43 explained that irreparable injury does not mean that there must not be physical possibility of repairing the injury but that means that the injury must be a substantial or material one that one cannot be adequately compensated for in damages.
If the court is in doubt and the above have not been proved then it may decide the application on a balance of conveniences. In VICTORIA CONSTRUCTION WORKS LTD VERSUS UGANDA NATIONAL ROADS AUTHORITY HMA NO. 601 OF 2010 the High Court while citing the decision in J. K. SENTONGO VS. SHELL (U) LTD [1995] 111 KLR 1; by Justice Lugayizi observed that if the applicant fails to establish a prima facie case with likelihood of success, irreparable injury and need to preserve the status-quo, then he/she must show that the balance of convenience was in his favour.
CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING AN INTERIM ORDER
The conditions for granting an interim order were laid down by Hon. Justice Joseph Murangira in GAPCO UGANDA LTD –VS- KAWEESA & ANOR MISC. APPLIC. NO. 259 OF 2013 and other different cases and these are as follows:
The applicant must prove the existence of a prima facie case with the likelihood of success.
The applicant must also prove the existence of an imminent threat of danger or likelihood of suffering an irreparable loss or damage.
That the applicant’s right or freedom is being violated. (See. ASHOGBON –VS- ODUNTAN (1935) 12 N.L.R. 7)
That there is a pending application before the court which has a likelihood of success. Under Order 50 Rule 3A(3) of the CPR (As Amended) its provided that, “The Court shall only consider the hearing of an application for interim relief where there is a pending substantive application with a likelihood of success”.
It should be noted that the granting of an interim order or temporary injunction is made in order to preserve the statusquo until the substantive application for a temporary injunction or main suit (respectively) is settled. (See. GUILIANO GARIGGIO V CLAIDIO CASADIO CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 03 OF 2013). Hon. Justice Remmy Kasule in HUMPHREY NZEYI VS BANK OF UGANDA AND ATTORNEY GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL APPLICATION NO.01 OF 2013 observed that an order to maintain the status quo is intended to prevent any of the parties involved in a dispute from taking any action until the matter is resolved by court.
Disclaimer
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
Edgar Tabaro is a lawyer and senior partner at KTA Advocates one of the best renowned commercial law firms in Uganda has been appointed as a Special Envoy of the President of Sudan’s oldest political party UMMAA party. Upon this appointment, Tabaro will serve as the Mahdi’s special envoy in the East African region.
Edgar Tabaro possess over 20 years of experience in legal practice where he holds a Bachelor a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, Makerere University, Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, LDC and LLM from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Edgar has had a distinguished career in academia as a Law School Dean, Senior Lecturer in Law with over 20 academic publications in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to this, he has been an external examiner at the Makerere Law School and the Bar Course at LDC.
Edgar Tabaro has also served on a number of boards including the Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation wherein he was its inaugural Managing Director and presently serves as Company Secretary of Agribusiness Development Center, a Rabo Bank entity in Uganda.
Edgar Tabaro specializes in Litigation, Construction Law, Commercial and Corporate law, Intellectual Property and Trade law. With this, he litigated and prosecuted ground-breaking litigation in intellectual property and commercial laws. He also has advised on various legislation on Intellectual Property in Uganda as the lead on behalf of Uganda Law Society and was retained by the EU to advise the Nigerian and Ghana governments on Geographical Indications for Pepa Yam, Kola nut and cocoa as well as kente clothe respectively. Edgar specializes in Intellectual Property, Corporate Law, Construction Law, Litigation and Trade Law.
The appointment came just a few months after the firm appointed him alongside Justus Karuhanga as its first senior partners where he became the firm’s Regional Practice head focusing on Business market entry in Burundi, DRC, Tanzania and Kenya.
Asmahaney Saad speaking at the KTA Regional Business Forum earlier this month (Courtesy of KTA Advocates)
According to the shortlist of the candidates for the Partner of the Year (Small Practice) Award that was released, Asmahaney Saad is second on the list alongside Adeleke Alex of Adedipe, Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adelipe(Nigeria), David Burrows of Burrows Attorneys(South Africa), John Morris Ohaga of TripleOKLaw(Kenya), Liad Hadar of Hadar Incorporated(South Africa), Megan Harrington of Johnson & Richard Paul Wands, Harringon –Johnson Wands Attorneys(South Africa), Rui Lopes of Lopes Attorneys(South Africa), Veronica Vurgarellis of Lawtons(South Africa) and finally Zama Ngcobo of WMN Attorneys(South Africa).
With other partners from law firms in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, Asmahaney Saad is the only Ugandan lawyer shortlisted and the second in entire Central and East Africa alongside Kenya’s Morris Ohaga of TripleOKLaw.
A screenshot of the shortlist.
Asmahaney Saad, Esq is the Managing Partner of KTA Advocates one of the leading law firms in Uganda, a role she assumed in January 2022 from Kenneth Muhangi, Esq who is the former Managing Partner for the firm. Asmahaney Saad joined the firm in 2020.
She is an advocate with over 15 years of practicing experience, a legal consultant and an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner. Asmahaney specialized in Corporate & Commercial law, Projects and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). She has over 12 years of experience in advising local, regional and international institutions on matters including oil and gas, project financing, mining, infrastructure development, National Content(including Joint Venture Structuring), Regulatory and Compliance, Governance, Environment, Health and Safety, trade investment and market entry.
This was an article in the Sunday Vision.
She also she serves as: Independent Non-Executive Director to the Board of United Bank of Africa (UBA) Uganda Ltd, Committee Member on the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC), a Trustee to the Board Trustees of Greater Tomorrow African Initiative (GTAI).
Asmahaney Saad is Secretary General (Emeritus) to the Governing Council of the East African Law Society, an Accredited Chartered Mediator to the High Court of Uganda (Commercial Division) and an Associate Member ClArb UK.
Just like any other professions, succeeding in the legal profession according to your dreams and expectation is always challenging. Forging your way success in such a profession more so in a country like Uganda is always more challenging when you don’t have anyone encouraging you to keep pushing till the next level, mentorship is the best way to get such encouragement. So you know, a mentor plays a great role in your career if you have one. A mentor is someone who is experience in the industry or profession who keeps encouraging and shaping someone else in their personal and professional growth. Such a person can spot one’s strength and weaknesses, and many of these you may not even realize they existed, a mentor give you that constructive criticism which helps your career to move forward.
The guidance that a mentor provides helps a mentee to reach their goals which could be impossible if such a person tries to pursue their goals on their own.
WHY WOULD HAVING A MENTOR MEAN IN THE LEGAL PROFFESSION
With the stiff competition in the legal sector, good law firms need employees that are varied with such experience and background that is desirable according to the law firm’s goals. Mentorship programs allow skilled professionals (depending on how you interpret skilled) to pass down the knowledge they have acquired over time, the necessary skills, the wisdom and many more that one may need to succeed. The mere fact that these professionals have tested life before you have and have perhaps made some mistakes that they shouldn’t wish someone else to get themselves into. Perhaps through sharing with them, you get to know the does and don’ts anyway.
So hope you realize you need a mentor if you don’t, but as you look for one please consider what you most want from the relationship. Do you have any problem that you want an insight on? Maybe gaps in your experience that you need guidance on? Perhaps you only don’t know what you don’t know. With all this, please know that it’s always good to know what you want before you make the decision, this will profit you professional growth without doubt.
Just so you know, mentorship isn’t just about having a prominent or famous or respectable mentor whose name will sound before your friends or anyone else once you mention that they’re your mentor. It’s about learning and growing professionally.
Professional growth requires a lot, and among many things that could fuel your consistency to succeed is the right mentorship. (Photo is courtesy of iPleaders)
WHAT SHOULD YOU BE LOOKING FOR IN A MENTOR?
For whichever goals you having when choosing a mentorship program, are you looking to gain experience, confidence or even a job, you need to consider the following;
Experience
Whether you want it or not, you need a mentor with experience so that they can guide you through the challenges you are or will be facing. What experience brings is, such a person has more certainly been involved in similar situations or even started from a similar point. He or she has been in your shoes at some moment and found a way out, so you have a chance that they will guide you on the best way to overcome such a situation regardless of how challenging it could be. It’s very important that you work with such a person, so I would advise that you find someone who has navigated through their share of challenges and has learned enough to pass on.
Rapport
Mentorship works well when you spend a lot of time with your mentor, it’s very important that you choose someone who you’re comfortable or feel compatible with. How easy does it feel to talk to such a person? How comfortable do you always feel when asking those questions or even seeking feedback?
Interaction between a mentor and mentee has gross impact on a mentee’s personal and professional growth so if you can’t really freely interact with your mentor then you won’t be getting the full value of their experience.
Diversity
Mentorship has more impact when you’re mentored by someone who keeps on encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone and get a different perspective of your career. This is what usually matters, not making you feel not self-worth or too bad to be transformed to be what you want. Mentorship is about development so you need someone that will be willing to push you to development in the best way and not to damage you instead.
You shouldn’t be afraid of getting a mentor who is certainly different from you in terms of opinion, age, religion, gender, experience however much I cannot disregard that they too may matter in some way.
Trust
Mentorship at times involves sharing private information with your mentor which means it’s important that you trust them. Trust isn’t built in a single day or two, but rather takes time and you need to understand that whoever the mentor maybe. Opening up is never easy even with our closest friends, but mentorship requires opening up at times if you are to get the development you are looking for. So with time, you will at least have set some ground rules, learned the communication styles of each other and built a foundation from which trust comes from and you will see the development in yourself.
Time
Interacting with your mentor is the best importance of mentorship you could think of, it’s therefore important that you choose a mentor who is willing to spare time to interact with you. The legal profession is a very busy one with lawyers always having their time dedicated to the work before them, a person who doesn’t time for you isn’t a good mentor regardless of their experience. It’s possible that you don’t work with your mentor but it’s important that you have time with them because that’s the easiest way of imparting knowledge.
HOW OR WHERE TO FIND A MENTOR?
If you’re now looking for the right mentor please consider this:
The Professional Association that you have.
Some of the benefits of joining professional organizations is the opportunity such organizations provide to finding a good mentor. There is an opportunity that you’re surrounded by the people who are actively engaged in the profession and having gained the necessary experience. These association members are likely to be proactive about learning and interested in contributing to the community of professionals but they can only help if you reach out to them.
The Uganda Law Society(ULS) in May 2021 launched the Young Lawyers Mentorship Series . In 2019, the ULS together with the Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) had launched a similar program.
Friends and Colleagues
Many of the friends you have or colleagues you work with have probably worked with a mentor or know someone who has. They can give you some recommendations if you actually ask them. Even when the firm you’re working with doesn’t have a mentoring program, the senior colleges there may be in a position to be your mentors provided you admire them and they’re experience. It’s only about asking them and then wait for their response.
Mentoring Program
Not many law firms in Uganda have a formal mentoring program, so if your firm does then you should consider taking advantage of it. The mentors that usually take part in such programs always have the skills, the work habits plus the personality traits that could be valued at your office. Therefore taking part in such a program will give you the sense of the firm’s culture and values together with a boost of what will come in next.
Coffee with Alice is a mentorship café/program stated by Counsel Alice Namuli Blazevic, it focuses on mentoring law students and young lawyers/fresh graduates. Coffee with Alice usually hosts its sessions through twitter spaces discussing different topics that impact the personal and professional life of a lawyer and a law student.
LinkedIn
I think you should also understand that the best way of searching for a mentor is by networking and the best site for professional networking is LinkedIn. Your profile plays a big role in attracting particular individuals to you, its therefore important that you keep your profile up to date. With that done, you need to connect with these people and more so personally message them. It’s important to sell yourself so that they can see you potential.
It’s good that you inform them from the start that you would wish to establish a formal professional mentorship with them, ask if it’s possible meeting up with them. That won’t be a bad start but be sure of the words you use, people have different troubles and mentorship always seems like favour they would be giving away, you know lawyers are not good at giving favours to strangers so it important that you language is decent and persuasive too.
MAINTAINING THIS RELATIONSHIP
Many of the mentorship relationships do not stand the taste of time as many lawyers are always busy on more pressing matters than answer questions for people who barely make an effort. So it’s important that you keep impressing your mentors if you want them to be of help or else they may give up, remember it’s you who loses out.
Normalize being punctual, working hard, avoid any careless mistakes, get all your work done accurately and keep showing them that you’re up for the task. Many mentors want to see the development in the mentees if they’re to keep going with the program so it’s on you to show that the development exists.
With this, when your mentor has an opportunity for you or wants to introduce you to someone then they will have the confidence in you. More to that, senior lawyers consider respect so much so remain respectful however close you may seem, keep the relationship professional, be courteous and don’t come off as bothersome or overwhelming.
After the President of the Republic of Uganda H.E. Y.K. Museveni Tibuhaburwa assented to the Landlord and Tenants Act of 2022, here is a compilation of some of the provisions that you shouldn’t miss out on knowing;
The landlord may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction where the defendant defaults payment of rent and is in arrears. – Section 29(1).
The landlord shall re-enter the premises the premises where the default continues for a period of more 30 days. This is what we refer to as eviction. –Section 29(2).
Eviction is to be made /done in the presence of the Local Council and the Police. – Section 29(2)
Even after eviction, the landlord is still entitled to recover the rent arrears. – Section 29(3).
Where a Landlord intends to increase rent charges, he/she must serve the tenant with a 60 day notice. – Section 26(2).
Any such rental charge increment cannot be more than 10% annually unless where such parties agreed in the tenancy agreement. – Section 26(1).
Payment of rent is to be made in Ugx. This exempts circumstances where the parties agree otherwise (both parties have to agree) – Section 22(2).
A landlord shall not increase the rent payable under a tenancy at intervals of less than twelve months. – Section 26(4).
All rent for commercial property/buildings is to be payable to the Landlords Accounts. The Act describes such to apply to landlords who rent out a business premise in the city or municipality – Section 21(4).
The tenancy agreement can be by word of mouth (An oral tenancy agreement is as good as a written tenancy agreement)-Section 3(1)(b). However where the tenancy agreement is of a value of 25 currency points (500,000UGX) or more, it has to be in writing if it’s to be enforceable. – Section 4. (Unless the person it was entered in with agrees to the facts or there is evidence inform of a data message.
Landlord is not supposed to unlawfully evict a tenant. – Section 45.
A landlord cannot force more than 3 months’ rent advance where the tenancy is of more than one month. – Section 24(1) (a). However, the tenant can pay such advance where there was a mutual agreement between the tenant and the landlord. – Section 24(2).
The Landlord is responsible for paying all taxes and rates imposed by law in respect to the premises. Where the tenant any such taxes or rates, the Landlord is supposed to indemnify the tenant for the amount paid. – Section 10. This provision doesn’t include utilities as they are provided for under Section 12 and 13 for the tenant and landlord respectively.
A landlord is not entitled to refuse renting premises on grounds such as race, sex, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, religion, birth, political opinion, disability and social or economic standing – Section 20.
The tenancy is terminated where the tenant vacates the premises with the consent of the landlord – Section 36(1). There’s also termination by abandonment but the landlord is still entitled to recover the rent arrears from the tenant. – Section 31(1) and (2).
Landlord may evict the tenant where such tenant refuses to vacate premises upon receiving a notice of termination. –Section 43.
(Courtesy video)
Disclaimer
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
For additional information in relation to this article, please contact the author
The Constitutional Court in the case of Law Advocacy for Women in Uganda v Attorney General Constitutional Petition Nos. 13 of 2005 & 05 of 2006 declared various provisions of the Succession Act, Cap 162 inconsistent and in contravention with Article 21(1), (2), (3), 31, and 33(6) of the Constitution. These provisions included Sections 2(n) (i) & (ii), 14, 15, 26, 27, 29, 43, and 44 of the Succession Act, Cap 162 and rules 1, 7, 8, and 9 of the Second Schedule of the same Act and hence were held null and void.
The nullification of these provisions was based generally of grounds of discrimination on the basis of sex and the provisions in the amendment were targeted at solving the lacuna that existed with the existence of the various nullified provisions of the Succession Act.
THE DEVELOPMENTS
Distribution of Property. This has been the most prominent part of the amendment. Where a person’s dies intestate (without a will) according to Section 27 where the intestate is survived by a spouse, lineal descendant, a dependent relative and a customary heir, the surviving spouse is entitled to 20% of the estate, the dependent relatives are entitled to receive 4%, 75% to the lineal descendants and only 1% to the customary heir. Where the intestate leaves no surviving spouse or dependent relatives then the other percentage will be allocated to the lineal descendants to make a percentage 99% against 1% of the customary heir. The amendment has a strict emphasis in regard to the percentage the customary heir is entitled to, it can’t be more than 1% unless the customary heir is also a lineal descendant which wasn’t the case in the act before. Further, Section 30 provides that if the surviving spouse was separated from the intestate as a member of the household at the time of the death then he or she is not entitled to any interest of the estate.
Language submissive to gender equality. The Act had various provisions refer to male terms which deemed discriminatory and resolved by the amendment. For example the use of the word spouse instead of married woman, man to person and adds other words such as “or mother” where there is father among others. This is under Section 2.
Residential Holding. The residential holding of a deceased person shall devolve equally to the surviving spouse and lineal descendants who were normally resident and any person who evicts or attempts to evict them commits an offence and is liable to a penalty. The descendants shall be deemed to hold the property as joint tenants. According to Sect 26, upon the death of a surviving spouse then the residential holding shall devolve upon the lineal descendants i.e. children. Once such residential holding is evolved to them, they shall be deemed to hold it under a tenancy in common.
Guardianship: The amendment provides for various forms of guardianship including testamentary rights under Section 43 where it’s the parent that appoints the guardian for his or her child, statutory guardianship under Section 44 and customary guardianship under Section 44A where the appointment is made by the family members of the minor.
Preference on administering the estate of the deceased. According to Section 201A a surviving spouse shall have preference over any other person. This however can be disregarded by the Administrator General on justifiable grounds provided in the amendment.
Maintenance. According to section 37, a testator may make a reasonable provision for the maintenance of his or her spouse, lineal descendants and where it’s not the case, court may make such order under Section 38.
There are more developments in the amendment but this is where the writer had his interest.
No information contained in this writing or article should be construed as legal advice from Legal Notch Uganda or the individual authors, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter.
For additional information in relation to this article, please contact the author
THE LEGAL NOTCH 