First female Professor of Law in East Africa,Lilian Tibatemwa

Profile of Prof. Lilian Tibatemwa.

Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza is currently the 1st Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Makerere university in charge of Academic Affairs.

After her elevation to the full rank of Professor by Makerere university in 2009, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa became the first female professor of law in Uganda and East Africa.

She was born in 1961 to late Prince Christopher Tibatemwa of Kigulu County in Iganga District.

Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa holds a Ph.D. from the University of Copenhagen Denmark; a Masters of Law (LL.M in Commercial Law) from Bristol, U.K.; and an Honours Degree in Law (LL.B. Hons.) from Makerere University.

She is an advocate in the Courts of Uganda’s Judicature.

Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa has extensively engaged in academic and policy impact research in areas of Criminal Law and Criminology, Children’s Rights, Juvenile Justice, Gender and Women’s Rights – areas in which she is also widely published.

Her work ingeniously links the Law with the socio-economic and cultural milieu, offering an invaluable critique of the law from “a lived reality” perspective.

More recently, she has engaged in research on Quality assurance in Institutions of Higher Learning. She has special interest in women’s right to education and has in the recent past been recognized as a FAWE Prominent Educationalist.

Prof. Lillain Tibatemwa is also a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences and an Alumnus of the International Women’s Leadership Forum.

Professor Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza also served as the Acting Vice Chancellor of Makerere university from April 2009 to October 2009.

Her publications include three books:

• Women’s Violent Crime in Uganda: More Sinned Against than Sinning (1999). Fountain Publishers, Kampala;
• Offences Against the Person: Homicides and Non-Fatal Assaults in Uganda. Fountain Publishers, Kampala; and
• Criminal Law in Uganda: Sexual Assaults and Offences against Morality. Fountain Publishers, Kampala

Milestones

Prof. Lilian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza has been a pioneer in several academic endeavours.

1. First Ugandan woman to qualify for an award of a Ph.D. in Law
2. First female to become an Associate Professor of Law in the East African region
3. First female to become full Professor of Law in the East African region
4. First female Deputy Dean of Makerere’s Faculty of Law
5. First female to ascend to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University.

The first female professor of Law in Uganda and East Africa, Lilian Tibatemwa is happily married to Paul Ekirikubinza, an engineer.

They are blessed with three sons in their beautiful marriage which has lasted for over 20 years.

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Also See: Profile of Prof. Hannington Sengendo, Vice Chancellor Nkumba University