Who is Jane Frances Abodo? Flash Uganda Media looks at her biography, age, husband, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Remigio Achia, Lawyer Male Mabirizi, the early life and education of the current Director of Public Prosecutions in Uganda.
Jane Frances Abodo is a Ugandan judge and attorney.
On April 2, 2020, she was named the country’s new Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Abodo was a High Court Judge in the Criminal Division of the court from February 2018 to April 2020 before her present post.
Net Worth
The majority of Jane Frances Abodo’s income comes from her successful legal career.
Her projected net worth as of 2023 was between $1 million and $5 million, indicating that it has been steadily increasing.
Early Life
Jane Frances Abodo was born on August 18, 1973, as the 9th child in a family of sixty-two children.
She was born and raised in Kangole, Napak district, Karamoja subregion, Northern Uganda.
She is a catholic by faith.
Education Background
During the period when the Verona Sisters would obtain sponsors for the students from Canada and Italy, Abodo attended Kangole Girls Primary School.
She was picked up by a priest during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in 1989–1991 and enrolled at St. Mary’s College Aboke, Lira, where she finished her O’level.
Abodo attended Trinity College Nabbingo from 1993 to 1996. Father Trudeau, a Nsambya-based Jesuit priest, covered her tuition costs till she completed her A’level.
The Kampala Uganda Management Institute awarded her a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management in 2003–2004.
She then graduated from the Uganda Center for Basic Research with a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods in 2005.
Abodo also holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University, where she graduated in 2006.
After being licensed to the bar in 2007, she started working as a state attorney in the Attorney General’s Office.
She was awarded a fellowship in 2015–16 to attend Trinity College Dublin to pursue a Master of Laws degree.
Education background summary
| Years | Institution | Status /Award |
| 1988 | Kangole Girls Primary School | PLE |
| 1989 – 1991 | St. Mary’s College Aboke | UCE |
| 1993 – 1996 | Trinity College Nabbingo | UACE |
| 2003 – 2004 | The Kampala Uganda Management Institute | Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management |
| 2005 | Uganda Center for Basic Research | Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods |
| 2006 | Makerere University | Bachelor of Laws |
| 2007 | Law Development Centre | postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice |
| 2016 | Trinity College Dublin | Master of Laws degree |
Marriage / Relationship
Jane Frances Abodo got married to Remigio Achia whom she met during her first year of college.
Together, they have a daughter who is sixteen years old and a son who is twenty years old.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Starting in 2007, Jane Frances Abodo was employed by the DPP’s office. She started as a trainee state attorney and progressed to assistant DPP, senior assistant DPP, primary state attorney, senior state attorney, and state attorney.
When Abodo was appointed to the High Court, she was the Senior Assistant DPP and in charge of the DPP’s office’s Anti-Corruption desk.
She served as the Senior Principal State Attorney from 2010 to 2014, overseeing and directing the day-to-day administrative tasks of the newly established DPP unit, as well as managing the team-building exercises and human resources.
She headed the DPP’s anti-corruption department in 2015 and was in charge of overseeing the department’s finances, managing them at the end of each month, prosecuting cases, and acting as the focal point for the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Eastern Africa and the Eastern Africa Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities.
Jane Abodo served as the Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions from 2017 to 2018.
Working along with more JLOS stakeholders. Abodo was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Criminal Division in March of 2018.
She was named Judge in Charge of Plea Bargain in November 2018 and Judge in Charge of Sexual Gender Based Violence cases in the Judiciary in September 2018.
Justice Jane Frances Abodo was appointed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to the position of Director of Public Prosecutions in 2020.
She took Justice Mike Chibita’s position on the Supreme Court after he was promoted.
Work experience background summary
| Years | Institution | Position(s) |
| 2007 – 2009 | DPP’s office | Trainee state attorney, assistant DPP, senior assistant DPP, primary state attorney, senior state attorney, and state attorney |
| 2010 – 2014 | DPP unit | Senior Principal State Attorney |
| 2015 | DPP’s anti-corruption department | Head of the DPP |
| 2017 – 2018 | DPP | Senior Assistant |
| 2018 | Criminal Division | High Court Judge |
| September 2018 | Judiciary | Judge in Charge of Sexual Gender Based Violence cases |
| November 2018 | Judiciary | Judge in Charge of Plea Bargain |
| 2020 | Supreme Court | Director of Public Prosecutions |
Achievements and Awards
Over time, Jane Frances Abodo has risen in the rankings. As a student state attorney, the Honorable Lady Judge started her career with the DPP and rose to the rank of senior assistant DPP.
She led the anti-corruption unit for eight years. She dealt with several high-profile corruption cases during that time, such as the Jimmy Lwamafa pension case and others involving 88 billion Ugandan shillings.
The Uganda Law Society honoured her as the best female prosecutor of the year in 2015. She made the move to the judiciary in March 2018 and left a stellar legacy.
Her office boasted the highest conviction rates in Uganda.
Abodo belongs to both the International Association of Women Judges and the Uganda Law Society.
Her memberships in the Uganda Women Judges Association and the Uganda Women Lawyers Association are likewise in effect.
Controversies
Abodo’s tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions was provisionally terminated in March 2021 following a ruling made by the Constitutional Court.
The ruling states that no judge may be appointed to any executive or judicial office. It further said that accepting the position without first resigning from your position as a judge is illegal.
Following the ruling, Justice Abodo and Justice Simon Byabakama, the chair of the Electoral Commission, could no longer serve as High Court justices and were forced to resign from their positions.
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