Flavian Zeija is a Ugandan lawyer, academic and former judge of the High Court of Uganda, who doubled as the country's Principal Judge, effective 25 December 2019, until his appointment as Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda on 7 February 2025 In Uganda, a Principal Judge is responsible for supervising the justices of the High Court, including the assignment of duties to members of the Court. The Principal Judge is also responsible for supervising the Magistrates Courts below the High Court. In his capacity as the Principal Judge, Justice Flavian Zeija is the third-highest ranking judicial officer in the country. The top five judicial officers are ranked as follows: 1. the Chief Justice of Uganda 2. the Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda 3. the Principal Judge 4. the Secretary to the Judiciary and 5. the Chief Registrar.

Background and education

He was born in Uganda on 18 February 1969. He attended St.Mary's College Rushoroza for secondary education where he served as the Headprefect. In 1993, he was admitted to Makerere University, the oldest and largest public university in Uganda. He graduated in 1996 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree. The following year, he obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala. In 1999, he returned to Makerere University and was admitted to the Master's program in Law. He graduated with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in 2002. His degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, was awarded by the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

in 2013. He also holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree, obtained from the

Uganda Martyrs University Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) is a private University affiliated with the Roman Catholicism in Uganda, Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. The University is owned by the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Bishops of Uganda. It is licensed by the ...

, in 2018. In addition, he is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of the United Kingdom, since 2012.

Work experience

He has a wide experience as a practicing attorney. He started out in 1998, as a legal assistant with ''Kwesigabo, Bamwine, Walubiri & Company Advocates'', a Kampala-based law firm. In the past, he worked at Tropical Africa Bank as manager legal and recovery, between 2002 and 2003. He also worked at FINCA Uganda Limited as legal counsel. At the time he was appointed to the High Court of Uganda, he served as the

managing partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as " equity partners" ...

at ''Zeija, Mukasa & Company Advocates'', another Kampala-based law firm. In addition to practicing law, Flavian Zeija taught law at 1.

Uganda Christian University Uganda Christian University (UCU) is a private church-founded university administered by the Church of Uganda. It was the first private University in Uganda to be awarded a charter by the Government of Uganda. Location UCU's main campus, with a ...

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

and 3. Makerere University Business School (MUBS). At MUBS he served as the founding head of the department of Business Law.

Judicial career

He was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Uganda in 2016. He was assigned as the Resident Judge of Mbarara High Court Circuit, the largest circuit in the country. While serving in that capacity, in December 2019, he was appointed to his current assignment.

Notable judgments

The Principal Judge, may at his/her discretion, continue to hear cases, in his/her capacity as a justice of the High Court of Uganda. A notable case that he handled in September 2020 was ''Kalemera H. Kimera vs Kabaka Muwenda Mutebi II''. In his dismissal of the suit, the judge said that according to current Ugandan inheritance laws, a grandchild who is not expressly named in the will cannot contest the inheritance of a grandparent's estate. Those who can contest are (a) the legitimate children of the deceased (b) the illegitimate children and (c) any adopted children of the deceased. The judge ordered the complainant to pay the respondents' legal fees.

Family

Justice Flavian Zeija is the father of five children.

References

External links

Website of the Judiciary of Uganda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeija, Flavian 1969 births Living people Justices of the High Court of Uganda Law Development Centre alumni Academic staff of Makerere University Makerere University alumni People from Western Region, Uganda Academic staff of Uganda Christian University Uganda Martyrs University alumni 20th-century Ugandan lawyers 21st-century Ugandan judges University of Dar es Salaam alumni