By Kefa Senoga
For an example of a life of twists and turns, look no farther than that of Isaac Christopher Lubogo. Lubogo is a lawyer whose father wanted him to pursue a science career. He is an academic, but initially chose to be a pastor.
During his early days, Lubogo lost his mother, but instead of pulling him down, her demise catapulted his desire to succeed in life. He says he used the depression that the death of Margaret Mugeni caused to create the energy to carry on with life. His father, Patrick Kunya, a minister in the Uganda government in the early 1980s, also had passed on.
“I do not remember lacking anything in life when my mother was alive,” Lubogo says, casting doubt on if he could have achieved whatever he has done now because he “lacked any ambition” before his mother died.
Because Lubogo knew that with the demise of Mugeni, he was all alone against the world, he had to make use of the resurgence in his energy and spirits. And that is partly responsible for an achievement that the law lecturer registered. He recently won the Legal Tech Innovation Award, Africa, for a digital platform that he uses to demystify the law. Lubogo, an alum and former lecturer of Uganda Christian University (UCU), said the judges at the annual awards were impressed with the Suigeneris Law App that he created because they believed that “it changed people’s mindset.”
Through the application, Lubogo teaches the knowledge of the law to people from certificate to doctorate level through the academic resources and materials. On the platform and without charge, one is able to access previous judgments, a legal dictionary, inspirational material, audios and books. Lubogo also has written more than 35 law books, many of which he shares on the platform through an e-book.
“I got confirmation from one university which is using one of my books in their syllabus,” Lubogo said. “Another book, Obuntu Bulamu and the Law, is also taught in some law schools in the country under jurisprudence.”
Had Lubogo not made a turning point at Busoga College Mwiri, a school in eastern Uganda, where he studied A’level, possibly the world would have missed his resourcefulness in as far as sharing law literature is concerned. He first studied science subjects – Physics, Chemistry and Biology – with the hope of pursuing a course in human medicine at university. However, the grades he got could not grant him the opportunity to study the course on government sponsorship at university. He thus chose to repeat A’level at Kira College Butiki in eastern Uganda, where he abandoned science subjects, opting for arts.
Despite passing his final examinations in A’level, Lubogo had second thoughts about joining the university.
“I studied a course in theology at Alpha-Omega Seminary in Jinja, but did not complete it,” Lubogo says, adding: “My desire to do theology was because of my strong Christian foundation.” He even started a church, Wairaka Miracle Centre, in Jinja. The church exists to date.
After four years of ministry, Lubogo joined UCU to pursue a Bachelor of Laws. By then, he already had a daughter, Zion, who is now at Makerere University, pursuing a Bachelor of Law degree.
Since he did not have money for tuition, Lubogo sold the only piece of land that his mother gave him to get money for the university fees. In his second year, he was lucky to get a scholarship that catered for his tuition needs until he completed his four-year course. After university, Lubogo pursued a Diploma in Legal Practice at Uganda’s Law Development Center, Masters in Law and is now pursuing a doctorate in law and a doctorate in psychology.
The legal scholar says after acquiring his Master of Laws degree at Makerere, he settled for a career in academia. He is currently teaching law at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) and Nkumba University. He was previously the Principal of UCU’s Institute of Petroleum Studies.
Lubogo notes that as an academic, he has interacted with students who have helped him come up with ideas. He says as a lecturer at UCU, one of his students, Muchwa Christopher, introduced to him the idea of creating an application from where legal literature can be shared. It is this app that won Lubogo international acclaim through the Legal Tech Innovation Award, Africa.
Lubogo recently wrote the Future Lawyer, which is meant to give upcoming lawyers information on how to deal with artificial intelligence. He is currently writing another book about oral examinations, aptitude tests and sitting interviews for law students at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels.
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