By Eunice Nangobi

KIU Main Campus- On Wednesday, March 27th, 2024, the Clinical Legal Education Department at the KIU School of Law organized a public lecture on Civil Procedure, featuring Honorable Justice Musa Ssekaana, the Head of the Civil Division of the High Court of Uganda.

Justice Musa Ssekaana advised students to start building their careers while still at university by making themselves known to lecturers and fellow students for their outstanding performance. He noted that these will be useful as future reference.

"Let's come up as a new breed of lawyers who know what they want, be that student that stands out, be known by all your lecturers and fellows," he said.

"Read Civil Laws like a Bible or Qur'an and in so doing, you'll discover something new each day" he added.

The vice chancellor Prof. Mouhamad Mpezamihigo assured students who attended the lecture that they were now miles away from those who didn't. Additionally, he expressed gratitude to Justice Musa Ssekaana for taking the time to motivate and inspire KIU students.

"Students, if you have participated in this public lecture and applied the wisdom imparted by Justice Musa Ssekaana, I am confident that you will excel in your legal careers." Prof. Mouhamad Mpezamihigo said.

He further urged students to engage with the department in order for to be beneficiaries of different initiatives and programs.

"So I encourage you and want you to participate in the department activities and hope it will possibly connect you to the world of industry, to the world of work and also the practitioners," added Prof Mohamed Mpezamihigo.

According to Dr. Olawunmi Opeyemi Obisesan the Head of the Department of Clinical Legal Education, the importance of this Civil Public lecture was to prepare law students for their careers as well as impart practical skills unto them.

"We want to impart practical skills to our students by not necessarily teaching them in the traditional way, but the modern way of lecturing to prepare them for their career," Dr. Olawunmi Opeyemi Obisesan said.

She went on to advise other universities to bring out law in various aspects to motivate students who were forced to do the course.

" Some students had passion for other things but were forced to do law, Universities should try to bring out law in all aspects to match the interests of these people. For instance, here we have media law, marital law, company law and others, relating their passion to the course." She said.

Law students who turned up in big numbers for the session that lasted about four hours grasped a lot from different law practitioners as they listened in with utmost attention.

Ruth Namagembe a second year student shared some insights on what she acquired during the lecture.

" I learnt steps to follow to institute a suit, if instituted what follows next, the hearing. If the judgement is in your favour, extract a decree and execute the orders there under," she explained.

The function was graced by distinguished individuals, including Prof. Shadrach Ekupa, the Head of the Law School Department, Prof. Bukola Akinola, the Dean of Students at the Law School, as well as esteemed senior lecturers such as counsel Muhindo Patience Audrey, counsel Fahad Kyazze, counsel Gilbert Mukiya, and numerous others.