Justice Mike Chibita is expected to be named the new Chief Justice of Uganda, replacing Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, whose tenure ended this week.
Owiny-Dollo was appointed Chief Justice on August 20, 2020, by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, becoming the 13th holder of the office. He succeeded Bart Magunda Katureebe, who retired in June 2020 upon attaining the constitutional age limit.
Justice Chibita has served on the Supreme Court of Uganda since December 2019. Prior to that, he held several senior positions in Uganda’s justice system, most notably serving as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from August 15, 2013, until December 6, 2019.
Before his appointment as DPP, Chibita served as a Justice of the High Court of Uganda. His career also includes extensive service within the Attorney General’s Chambers and other key government institutions.
Born on April 30, 1963, in Buwesa Village, Butaleja District, in eastern Uganda, Chibita is the son of Clement and Edisa Duallo. He completed his primary education locally before joining King’s College Budo in Wakiso District, where he completed both O-Level and A-Level studies, graduating in 1985.
He later joined Makerere University Law School, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1988. He obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in 1989 and later earned a Master of Laws degree in International and Comparative Law from the University of Iowa in the United States.
In 1993, Chibita lectured in International Relations and African History at the University of Northwestern–St. Paul in Roseville, Minnesota. He returned to Uganda in 1994 and was appointed State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Chambers.
From 1995 to 1996, he served as a legal assistant to the Attorney General. He was later appointed Private Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Office of the President, a position he held for seven years from 1996 to 2003.
Chibita returned to the Attorney General’s Chambers in 2003 before joining the Uganda Revenue Authority, where he served as an Assistant Commissioner in the Commissioner General’s Office until 2010.
Following his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Uganda in December 2019, where he has since served as a Justice.
If confirmed, Justice Chibita will assume leadership of Uganda’s judiciary at a time of heightened public scrutiny over judicial independence, access to justice, and constitutional governance.
