THE DISAPPOINTMENT with which we regard the legal profession in Uganda today is not unwarranted. It is quite imbalanced, though, when you consider how many serious lawyers are out there actually working for people who need their services the most.

For decades now, we have seen serious lawyers demonstrate their dedication to that profession as a service to the general public through their work in various ways.

Bang the table?

Most Ugandans adding a hashtag to that phrase might have no memory of a female lawyer, legislator, and frontline feminist called Miria Matembe who did so back in the late 1900s by introducing a Burdizzo to discussions about rape and defilement.

That comment alone turned back a whole wave of nonsensical behaviour that our society seemed to accept as normal.

At about the same time, we (as a society) started paying more attention to the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Uganda), more than twenty years after it had been formed.

https://skaheru.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/About-FIDA-Uganda-FINAL-1.pdf

Understandably, the 70s and 80s were not decades in which female lawyers could thrive visibly because the country generally had more pressing life-and-death concerns on a national scale.

When I was growing up, I knew too many people who joked about FIDA in a stereotypical fashion because it seemed to be a new organisation in the minds of all Ugandans back then.

Over the years, this organisation of female lawyers has risen in stature so much so that most of us actually hold it in high respect as reliably effective at what it does—especially providing justice for women and children who can’t find it elsewhere.

The reality behind the scenes, though, requires us to pay more attention to it as Ugandans – certainly more attention than we are paying to other members of the profession who are focused on quasi-intellectual street brawling.

FIDA-Uganda celebrates 50 years of existence this week with various activities, starting with a Grand Dinner on December 7th at the Kampala Serena Hotel. I won’t physically be in attendance because…(fill in your own reasons) but will be there in spirit since this is a cause I need to support.

So do YOU.

Their focus being women and children means that they cater to the majority of Ugandans, according to common sense and our most recent national census. On top of that, though, they actually DO serve men directly; their last annual report says they provided legal aid services to 6,483 men and 14,001 women.

I am in this for the women and children, though; also because, like most other local non-governmental organisations of this nature, FIDA-Uganda is actually poorly funded and gets to do much less than it should.

The amounts involved in supporting work being done through FIDA-Uganda are equivalent to many wedding budgets expended per weekend here in Kampala: US$60,000 for a full district to hold legal aid clinics, psychosocial support to women and children, and legal representation and counselling for a full year, for instance.

https://skaheru.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/FIDA-U-Strategic-Plan-2023-2027-final.pdf

I don’t have that standing idly by but have dedicated a small amount of money to submit to them as my monthly contribution throughout 2025 as my contribution to the 50-year celebrations so that FIDA can run on for another half century.

To provide holistic legal aid for one woman across the year, you need to contribute Ushs260,000 for a year—less than the cost of a bottle of whisky for one night at a medium-rate lounge in Kampala. (And the same as it costs for a seat at the Serena Fundraising Dinner this Saturday, so choose wisely.)

https://skaheru.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/FIDA-Uganda-Annual-Report-2023-_.pdf

At any rate, Be Serious, people! If you have a relative who is a woman or child that cannot afford a lawyer, surely this is an obvious avenue for you to make society better.

There is more we can all do as serious Ugandans looking out for our own, starting with donations of Ushs55,000 that would cover all Court filing Fees for one case.

The number of heart-rending stories of vulnerable women and children who live miserable lives simply because they cannot find such little monies are inexcusable in a society that spends so much celebrating life so visibly on our social media platforms.

In two of my WhatsApp Groups I have refused to pay for the annual Christmas Party and instead channeled the fees requested to FIDA.

Why? I do not need another party as much as a Ugandan woman who lacks access and money needs justice and fairness from our legal system.

I’ve got to think about other people while supporting another part of the legal profession in Uganda that is still respectable and useful to society. So here’s hoping for another #50YearsOfProgress at FIDA-Uganda.
—

Simon Kaheru

www.skaheru.com
@skaheru