Last updated on February 1st, 2023 at 09:56 am
First published: April 22, 2022 Last Updated: November 23, 2022 to reflect new follower counts and make minor corrections. The list and thinking about this ranking has not changed ever since the article was first published and there has not been any break outs since then.
When we talk about social media influencers in Uganda, it’s hard to imagine lawyers can be among them.
This is because the legal profession in Uganda is largely still traditional and comprises of lots of luddites that are wary of the idea of using the new media technologies.
However, these nine names have raised the Ugandan bar on social media using their respective accounts to connect with existing and potential clients, participate in public debates, assert their brands and authority, showcase expertise in their areas of legal practice while giving their audiences first hand sneak peaks into their personal lives.
So, without any further ado let’s delve into our list.
- Isaac Ssemakadde ( Twitter: @IsaacSsemakadde, 89.6K followers Facebook: 37000 followers)
On top of this list is Mr Isaac Ssemakadde.
Ssemakadde is arguably the most popular Ugandan lawyer on social media this year boasting of a fast growing following of 89,600 people on twitter.
On Facebook, Isaac has a highly engaged following of 37000 people, more than any career Ugandan lawyer.
Isaac Ssemakadde is a celebrated human rights and public interest lawyer. He is the founder of the democracy and human rights watchdog, Legal Brains Trust.
The self-styled legal rebel has become popular for his pithy and punchy views on legal current affairs and because of this his Twitter account has been a subject of discussion in the top echelons of the Judiciary.
He has been accused of insulting High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana and the DPP Justice Jane Frances Abodo using his Twitter account something he has rigorously defended as free speech.
Ssemakadde uses his social media influence to advocate for freedom of speech, a free press, constitutionalism, rule of law and accountability of the Judiciary.
Last year, he took social media by storm when he posted pictures of himself spotting dreadlocks which is a very strange sight considering the conservative nature of our legal profession.
2. Silver Kayondo (Twitter: 22.7 K followers, LinkedIn: 8,943 followers)
Silver Kayondo is easily one of Uganda’s youngest law firm partners.
He is a Partner in the Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) practice at Ortus Advocates.
Silver Kayondo has a very engaged following of 28500 people on Twitter and 8,943 followers on professional networking site LinkedIn.
He serves his audiences with latest legal news updates from across the globe under the hashtag #LegalUpdate on twitter and on LinkedIn.
Most importantly, Silver Kayondo is one of the leading industry voices on emerging technologies, startups, corporate law, banking, finance and the fourth industrial revolution.
3. David F.K Mpanga (Twitter: 143900 Followers)
He is the deputy chairman of South African Law firm Bowman’s Office in Kampala and one of the most followed Ugandan lawyers on Twitter at 143900 followers.
David is a widely respected attorney in financial institutions law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, international commercial transactions, among others.
Although David F.K Mpanga doesn’t like (if at all) sharing legal knowledge and information on social media reasoning its a lawyer’s stock in trade that can’t be shared freely online, he is still a very influential lawyer whose opinion and commentary on current affairs and industry is highly regarded.
David is an avid Arsenal supporter and will once in a while partake in football banter. He is also a Deejay and regularly shares his works giving his huge audience this image of an archetypal O-shaped lawyer.
4. Nicholas Opiyo ( Twitter: 170300 followers).
Nicholas Opiyo is one of the well-known and widely respected human rights lawyers in the country.
He is the founder and executive director of the once suspended Chapter Four Uganda, a non-profit civil society organization.
Nicholas Opiyo is the most followed career (read practicing) Ugandan lawyer on Twitter at 170300 followers.
Mr Nicholas Opiyo’s views and commentary on human rights issues are highly regarded and he will be hoping from one media channel ( and quite often institution) to the next to offer his expertise.
He has also bagged several awards for his work including the coveted Human Rights Tulip 2021.
Last year his arrest on charges related to money laundering sparked international headlines and opprobrium on social media – an indicator of his wide influence.
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5. Alice Namuli Blazevic (Twitter: 5,772 followers).
The only lady on the list ( at least for this year), Alice Namuli Blazevic is a Partner at Katende, Ssempebwa and Company Advocates.
She is an attorney in corporate and commercial transactions, block chain, AI, Legal Tech and TMT.
Alice Namuli Blazevic is the founder of the Legal tech incubator, the legal innovation hub which aims at building better legal solutions for the consumers of legal services.
She also founded Kampala Legal Hackers.
Alice is passionate about mentoring law students and young lawyers which led to her founding the mentorship cafe.
She uses her Twitter to broadcast messages around legal tech and innovation, AI, mentorship, reading, entrepreneurship and career opportunities for law students.
6. Fred Muwema ( YouTube: League of the Genuine, 439,513 Views)
Fred Muwema is the founding partner of Muwema & Company Advocates.
He is very experienced in corporate and commercial transactions his experience spanning a couple of decades.
Fred founded the Anti-counterfeit Network(ACN) a not for profit organization that aims to fight counterfeits and illicit trade.
He hosts a YouTube show ” The League of the Genuine” on the ACN channel which is helping generate public awarenesses around counterfeits and their dangers.
Fred Muwema’s show so far has 4K subscribers and 439,513 views over 148 videos making it the most watched show on YouTube by a member of Uganda’s legal profession.
7. Busingye Kabumba ( Twitter:@bkabumba, 23.8K followers)
Dr Busingye Kabumba is a constitutional law lecturer at Makerere University Law School. He also teaches international law at the same institution.
Busingye Kabumba is also a consulting partner at Development Law Associates.
Kabumba is literally the face of law academia on Twitter. He is followed by 23800 people.
Kabumba is a leading voice on de-colonisation, international law and human rights and once in a while will share interesting poems.
Dr Busingye Kabumba has deployed Twitter to champion social causes. In 2018, he ran a campaign dubbed #MTNMweddeko against telecom giant MTN Uganda over their money reversal policies.
At the time, reversing money wrongly sent would require one to obtain a court order but thanks to Kabumba’s campaign this was revised and at the time of this writing, MTN facilitates mobile money reversals.
Kabumba this year used his Twitter to launch and promote the Makerere Law Scholarship Fund an idea aimed at raising money to support financially challenged law students.
8.Daniel Bwambale (Twitter:@TheMutaD, 20.5K followers)
His Worship Daniel Bwambale is a magistrate and lawyer in start up business advisory, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, tax, among others.
He has been stationed at Uganda Legal Information Institute (ULII) as its head until recently.
Daniel Bwambale has got a 20500 people following on Twitter and his is one of the most knowledgeable and informed accounts in the profession.
Daniel tweets about governance issues, legal tech, infrastructure and real estate. Most especially infrastructure!
Terry Kahuma (YouTube: Simply Legal By Terry Kahuma, 36,296 Views)
Terry Kahuma is the youngest lawyer to feature on this list.
He is a law graduate from Uganda Christian University (UCU) and works with Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL).
Terry is an up and coming Legal YouTuber at his channel “Simply Legal By Terry Kahuma” where he regularly shares and provides basic insights into legal principles.
His channel has 3510 subscribers and has so far been watched by 36,296 people across 136 videos.
Terry Kahuma has also founded an App called Firmeron to help in connecting consumers of legal services with lawyers.
** All numbers accurate at time of writing
** The Firmeron App by Terry Kahuma is advertised here but his ranking on this list is not influenced by that. As a matter of fact, the app was launched much later after this article was first published. Like all other adverts on this site, no endorsement should be drawn from the site of the App.
** Article was edited to correct that Terry Kahuma works at UETCL and not UEGCL as was previously reported
Benjamin Ahikiiriza is a Professional Legal Writer And Digital Communications And Marketing Specialist Focused on Helping Lawyers, Law Firms And the Legal Sector Leverage Digital Communication Tools to Achieve Their Goals.
He is the Founder and Chief Editor of the LegalReports Website.
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