Who is Kiryowa Kiwanuka? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, K&K Advocates, relationship with Sarah Kiconco, Jimmy Mugambe Kiwanuka, Jolly Joe Kiwanuka, Edwin Karugire, early life and education of the current Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka Nsumikambi Mugambe commonly known as Kiryowa Kiwanuka or KK is a Ugandan businessman and Advocate who currently serves as Attorney General of the Republic of Uganda.
He was appointed to the AG office on June 8, 2021, by president Yoweri Museveni, replacing William Byaruhanga.
Early life and Education
Kiryowa Kiwanuka was born in Uganda in 1972, the year of infamous dictator Idi Amin’s coup d’etat and rise to power in the country. Jimmy Mugambe Kiwanuka, Kiryowa’s late father, was Chief Accountant at the Uganda Coffee Marketing Board.
Jolly Joe Kiwanuka, his late paternal grandfather and a prominent politician, was assassinated by Idi Amin’s forces sometime in the 1970s.
Kiryowa spent a great part of his early childhood living in exile in Nairobi, Kenya with the surviving members of his family. The family would eventually return home to Uganda along with many other exiles in 1980 following the overthrow of Amin which brought an end to the reign of terror in the country and marked the return of peaceful times.
For his elementary education, he went to Budo Junior School. After that, he attended Kings College Budo for his O-Levels. He then attended Makerere College School to complete his A-Level education.
He received admission to Makerere University, the oldest and biggest public university in Uganda, in 1993 to pursue a degree in Law.
Makerere University awarded Kiryowa Kiwanuka a Bachelor of Laws degree. The Law Development Centre was his next stop, and there he earned a diploma in legal practice.
In 1997, he was admitted to the Uganda Bar. Later, the University of Dundee in Scotland awarded him a Master of Laws in Petroleum Law and Policy.
Family and Relationship
Kiryowa Kiwanuka married Sarah Kiconco (now Sarah Kiwanuka) whom he met in 1997. The Kiwanukas’ union has been blessed with four children. He has a younger brother named Bakadde Kiwanuka who like him works as a lawyer in the UK.
Career and Work Experiences
Kiwanuka was a founding partner of the privately held Kampala Law firm K and K Advocates & Solicitors Uganda prior to his present job. He was appointed as Uganda’s attorney general on June 8, 2021.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka serves on the board of directors of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, since 2015. President Museveni selected him to the board of the Petroleum Authority after he earned his Master’s degree from the University of Dundee in order to benefit from his experience as Uganda begins the crucial phase of oil production.
He remains a Partner at K&K formerly Kiwanuka & Karugire Advocates and an associate member of Multilaw. He is an advocate of the High court of Uganda since his admission to the bar in 1998, as well as a member of the Uganda Law Society, East African Law Society and International Bar Association.
He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).
Achievements, Awards and personal establishments
Outside of law and politics, Kiryowa enjoys sports. He has actually spent the last few years reviving Express Football Club, a team his grandfather founded but whose winning ways had dwindled since its heyday.
He is the board’s chairman, and thanks to him, Express FC is once again successful.
However, KK is not only an avid supporter of football; he has also made a name for himself in the game of golf in Uganda, where he is a member of several golf clubs including Entebbe Club, Uganda Golf Club, Jinja Sports Club and Kilembe Mines Golf Club.
He had held the position of President of the Uganda Golf Union, guiding the national squad to numerous coveted regional victories.
Controversies
Kiryowa Kiwanuka is famous for his family history and numerous connections in the corridors of power in Uganda, but especially for his business partnership with Edwin Karugire who is arguably famous equally for marrying Natasha Museveni, the President’s daughter, as for his legal practice. However, outside his ties with Karugire, Kiwanuka has made a name for himself in Uganda.
President Museveni has been freed from political pressure thanks to his involvement in a number of political initiatives and legal successes which is considered by some to be one of the motives behind his appointment as Attorney General.
It was back in high school that Kiryowa first met with President Museveni’s future son-in-law, Edwin Karugire, and the two started a lasting friendship. Eventually, the two would team up to form K and K Advocates & Solicitors Uganda, a law firm that would go on to make significant contributions to Ugandan legal literature and documents.
Kiwanuka has made a name for himself in private practice and now faces several herculean tasks in representing the state, including the delicate matter of reparations amounting to $4 billion being sought by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo against the government of Uganda for the role Uganda played in the conflicts in the DRC between 1998 and 2003.
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