#Africa Archives - Jonathan Ochom

The Access to Justice Problem: A Global Outlook

Posted on September 25, 2021September 25, 2021 by Jonathan Ochom

In spite of various efforts and initiatives to enhance access to justice globally, the need for free or heavily subsidised legal services persists. Indeed, the right to access to justice has been described as one of the areas in which “rhetoric outruns reality” because practically, all countries face several challenges in its realisation. By 2017, […]

Revisiting the ICC and the Afrika Question

Posted on June 20, 2021July 5, 2021 by Jonathan Ochom

Africa welcomed the International Criminal Court (ICC) with enthusiasm. Numerically, 33 out of the 121 State Parties as at June 2012 were from the continent and this constituted the “largest regional grouping among ICC member states”. The warm reception saw countries like Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Central African Republic self-refer cases to […]

Recent Articles

Use of Indicators for Measuring Human Rights Implementation

Jun 21, 21
Revisiting the ICC and the Afrika Question

Jun 20, 21
The Bail Debate: A Conceptual and Historical Perspective

Oct 24, 21
The Access to Justice Problem: A Global Outlook

Sep 25, 21
Access to Justice through a Conceptual Lens

Sep 24, 21
Explaining the “Bundle of Rights” on Land

Sep 24, 21

I was born and bred in Bukedea, a small township approximately 250km northeast of Uganda’s capital, Kampala. My life is largely influenced by my mother: Anna Asianut Amuya Akol, a woman whose love, compassion, sobriety, resilience, hard work, honesty and sacrifice is boundless. Against all odds, she nurtured me and imparted life-long lessons that shape my social and professional outlook to this day. Perhaps she is the reason I love human rights law because I grew up in a space where my rights were to a large extent respected, protected and fulfilled by her.

A few years after completing law school, I co-founded Legal Hub Uganda, a non-profit justice start-up that leverages technology to enhance access to justice in addition to Elau & Ochom Advocates, a general practice law firm in Kampala. I have also worked for multiple international and national organisations focusing on human rights, access to justice and land management in Uganda.

In my solo non-legal moments, I devour Ugandan coffee, biographical content, soulful music, thrillers and action movies. Photography warms me. Regularly, I follow national and global politics — a practice which fortifies my resolve not to join it impetuously. Of course, my story is incomplete without another woman: Desire R. Ochom, a treasured soul that took on one of the world’s unenviable tasks — being my best half.

Anyway, this is me, in a nutshell!