A Professor is only one after an Inaugural lecture, Says Prof Oloka Onyango

Written by: 
Joanita Asimmire

Yesterday, Makerere University celebrated the academic success of Professor Joel Oloka Onyango after he finally presenting his inaugural lecture dubbed “Ghosts and the Law” in the university main hall.

After ten years of being a professor, Onyango finally presented his lecture and he was awarded two certificates of recognition and appreciation by the vice chancellor Prof. Dumba Ssentamu.

The lecture saw high profile guests like Prof. Dumba Ssentamu the vice chancellor of Makerere University, Lady Justice Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza of the Supreme Court, his family led by his mother Mrs. Lucy Onyango, his colleagues from law school and law students that crammed the main hall full to capacity.

While the vice chancellor was inviting him, he said he was presenting the back ground and status of his research that he has been doing in his academic career which was about Ghosts and the law.

Dr. Damalie Naggita- Musoke, the dean to law school described him as a principled and good natured, one who has been an advisor, trustee and board member to many institutions.

Prof. Onyago’s lecture was majorly about connecting law to politics and society plus their impacts as he mentioned a few of the ghost cases in the law like the “Hammersmith Ghost murder case (1804) and Opolot Vs Uganda.”

About Professor Joel.Oloka Onyango

Joe Oloka-Onyango (born 16 September 1960 in North London, England) is a Ugandan lawyer and academic.

 He is Professor of Law and Director of the Makerere University Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC) in Kampala, Uganda, as well as the former Dean of Makerere Law School. He studied law at Makerere University and the Kampala Law Development Center, before earning a Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees at Harvard Law School. He is a scholar of human rights in the African context.

Oloka-Onyango practiced law from 1982 to 1985. He has served as a member of the UN Sub commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, as UN Special Reporter on Globalization and Human Rights, as well as consultant to the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization. He also serves on the advisory or governing boards of a number of non-profit human rights organizations in North America, Europe and Africa.