By Eriah Lule
Government sponsorship is a big blessing in the family for many parents in Uganda because of the associated benefits, but it was different for Shamirah Kitimbo.
Despite receiving a commendable 18 points in her combination of History, Economics, Divinity, and Submath (HED/Sm), Kitimbo, chose to forego government sponsorship for a business course at Makerere Business School. Instead, she made the bold decision to pursue her passion for law by enrolling in a law course at Uganda Christian University (UCU). Her decision exemplified her determination to pursue her dreams and choose a path that reflected her true interests and aspirations.
“My parents totally understood my desire and passion; they didn’t insist but instead supported my decision to pursue a career in law,”, Kitimbo said.
In the recently released Law Development Center (LDC) final examination results, on the list is Kitimbo Shamirah, the overall best female performer, and the second best with a CGPA of 4.80. With such a stunning performance, the few who are close to Kitimbo are not surprised by these grades.
Pursuing her law degree, Kitimbo graduated with a second-class upper and a CGPA of 4.13. Her endless effort through group discussions and optimism towards the law couldn’t help but pave her way into the profession.
Students who graduated from UCU topped the list of first-class graduates. Out of the total number of 20 best students from the bar course, at least nine had gone through the UCU’s law school. The rest, according to the list, are from across the universities.Students who graduated from UCU topped the list of first-class graduates. Out of the total number of 20 first-year students from the bar course, at least nine had gone through the UCU’s law school. The rest, according to the list, are from across the universities.
On one of his engagements, the retired Bishop of Mityana Diocese, Dr. Kopliano Bukenya, the first University Secretary and the brains behind the institution’s Law program, noted that he had a vision of the infant university then, in 1997, to one day start producing the best lawyers for the national and international legal field. A dream that the 79-year-old has lived to see.
Kitimbo credits the university’s foundation for her thriving through the bar: “The UCU system was tough; it sparked in us the spirit of self-motivation, although the bar built what I have as a core “
Okia Emmanuel, her former classmate at UCU and colleague at the bar, credits Kitimbo’s continuous effort and self-drive towards learning new things and helping her colleagues wherever necessary.
“Shamira is an amazing person; we were actually on different campuses but we talked quite a lot”, he said. “She was actually on the Kampala campus and I was on the Mbarara campus, but we had online discussions with her the entire time. Zoom calls. We both rarely missed those to improve our grades”.
In a country like Uganda where taxes are passed and imposed on the citizens who know little or nothing of them, this worries Kitimbo, a clear exemplifying factor why she is determined to become one of the most profound lawyers in the field of corporate and taxation.
She wants to contribute to society through mass tax sensitization and laws that make people fall short unknowingly. “In Uganda, people are being taxed and they are ignorant; this affects many who even lose their hard-earned businesses in the long run”, she said.
Kitimbo is currently working with Festo and Company Advocates, owned by a UCU alumnus, as well as Festo Asiimwe Tindyebwa.
Born to Kakaire Mubarak and Susan Kaliza of Iganga District in the eastern part of the country, Kitimbo is the second born out of the couple’s five children.
Yes, Kitimbo was a leader; she has been a class monitor right from school, a class representative at the university, and a firm leader at LDC.
She also served as the General Secretary for the Law Council for the Law Society and Vice Chairperson of the Constitution Review Committee of the Law Society at UCU.
