By Ivan Tsebeni
In 2017, when Charlotte Kabaseke embarked on a PhD program, she knew that the path to victory would be rough, but did not know how rough. Had she known the challenges that awaited her in the course, Kabaseke says she would have opted out.
“It was not a bed of roses,” Kabaseke said. “The higher I went in my academic career, the more challenging it was and, in many cases, Christ was my only solace.”
Because of obstacles, however, she said she had become “stronger, more resilient, more mature, more analytical, more courageous, more confident, more organized and more intellectually alert.”
It is that maturity and confidence that she exhibited at the interview to hire a new Associate Dean for the Faculty of Law at the Uganda Christian University (UCU) Kampala campus. And she emerged victorious.
The academic terrain she traversed during the time she pursued her Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice in Uganda as well as for her doctoral degree was tough. The legal practice diploma is required to practice law in Uganda.
“The Post-Graduate Diploma and PhD journeys presented some of my life’s lowest moments,” she said. “My intellect was put to a true test during my pursuit of both journeys.”
Upon her graduation with a PhD in December 2020 at the University of Wuhan in China, Kabaseke posted on social media that she did not expect the kind of challenge she got during the program.
In the role of Associate Dean, Dr. Kabaseke replaces Prof. George W. Kasozi, for whom a farewell ceremony was conducted during a community worship service, at UCU, on October 5, 2021. The position of Associate Dean is the highest in the faculty at the Kampala campus.
She says Prof. Kasozi laid a firm foundation that she hopes to build on. Kabaseke says she intends to contribute to making the UCU Law Faculty and the entire UCU a better place “for the glory of God and for the satisfaction of all our clients.”
Dissemination of knowledge through teaching, research and publication is the heartbeat of Kabaseke.
“Seeing my students make it in life, as well as transforming communities through pro bono legal services gives me satisfaction,” she says.
Some of Kabaseke’s works are published in popular journals, such as Gender and Behavior, an interdisciplinary publication dedicated to articles that reflect psychological and behavior aspects of gender.
One of her most popular publications is a chapter in a book titled Climate Change: Hazards and Adaptation Options, published by Springer International Publishing. Her chapter in the 2020 publication is titled Legal Recognition of Women’s Role in Combating Desertification in Africa: The Case For Uganda.
Kabaseke holds a Master’s of Law from Makerere University, which she acquired in 2012. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Law from UCU in 2009, and acquired a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, from the Law Development Center in Kampala the following year.
For her secondary education, Kabaseke attended Maryhill High School, a prestigious institution in western Uganda. Budo Junior School in central Uganda is where she had her primary education.
Before her appointment as Associate Dean for the Faculty of Law, Kabaseke was the Acting Dean and, before that, the Head of Department at the Faculty of Law at Bishop Stuart University since 2016.
Kabaseke grew up in Kabale district in southwestern Uganda. She says her compassion, and love for Christ and the truth are virtues instilled in her by her mother, Birungi Specioza. When she is not engaged in academic work, Kabaseke spends time evangelizing, listening to gospel music, travelling, reading and making friends.
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