Bamugemereire: Tough judge who loves to smile

Bamugemereire’s lite side

Any three things we don’t know about you?

I didn’t cohabit. I got married three weeks after graduating from Law Development Center and had my first born two days after our wedding anniversary.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Being at peace with yourself, with God, and with man.

What is your greatest fear?

If I woke up one day and I was alienated from God, I would be very worried.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Always wanting to be perfect. I go through something so many times but still say I wish it was more perfect than this. It’s very painful if you are the one who does it.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I feel very let down by people who don’t take assignments seriously. It also goes to those who don’t take their marriages, appointments, and work seriously.

Which living person do you most admire?

Academics say it’s dangerous to admire living people because they can easily change. I normally prefer dead people and the things they’ve written about them.

What is your greatest extravagance?

I will buy another pair of shoes and I will buy another book.

What is your current state of mind?

I am at peace. I feel am in the right place and doing well with my family and work.

How do you handle criticism?

I’ve been a judge of the High Court, a Chief Magistrate and I’ve headed two commissions. All those areas had high profile cases which many times attracted criticism.  I don’t respond to criticism because people are entitled to their opinion.  As a person I think deeply about all the decisions I make.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Piety. There are times when we misapply it because when people appear confident, articulate and bold, we tend to think they are not humble. Being pious, cutting off one’s hair and not wearing makeup is not exactly being humble.

On what occasion do you lie?

The truth can be brutal sometimes but the truth heals.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

I love the way God made me. It is one of the lessons I learnt after becoming a Christian in S.2.  There is nothing about me that is not beautifully made.

Which living person do you most despise?

Men who abuse women either physically or emotionally.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

I want a man to be a gentleman. He is strong and powerful but will not use this in a negative way.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

I like strong wise women who are able to cause change in their families and society.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

I haven’t applied my mind to it.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

My husband.

When and where were you happiest?

When we had just got married and lived in Arua. We would walk to work which was a distance of about a mile and half. We would be at office by 8am. It was nice and peaceful.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I admire women who do a lot of physical work such as lifting. When you go to Mbale you will see women run up the mountain and come back with matooke on their back. I wish I could do that but I can’t.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My children are my greatest achievement.

We do a lot of work and you feel like you haven’t quite done it. I would be bragging to say that I’ve achieved so much but bringing out that UNRA report was an achievement because we had a lot of impediments.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

The cat in 10 Downing Street that outlives all governments.

Where would you most like to live?

Any part of Uganda.

What is your most treasured possession?

I don’t have any treasured possession. I give away a lot because I don’t want to hung on to things.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Having everything and lose your soul. It’s sad to have everything including wealth but you are miserable and cause misery to the people close to you.

What is your favorite occupation?

In the next world I want to be an engineer.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I love to smile even in the face of adversity.

What do you most value in your friends?

Trust and honesty.

Who are your favorite writers?

When growing up I loved reading Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte and Shakespeare. Now, I just completed Jim Collins’  ‘From Good to Great’. Am also reading ‘Lean in’ by Sheryl Sandburg but my best novel is by Harper Lee – ‘To kill a Mocking Bird.’

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

In the bible I most identify with Deborah, the lady who came out to deal with the King and evil military leader Sisera. This was at the time when men in the Israeli society were doing nothing about the injustices going on.  She was a very courageous woman.

And Rosa Parks the American black woman who stood up against the times and sat on the part of the bus which was only for whites.

Who are your heroes in real life?

I admire all women who have done courageous things to make us women of today proud.

What are your favorite names?

I was so happy my mum named me Catherine Elizabeth. The Catherine Elizabeths I know have done courageous things. I also like my maiden name Hakhasa.

What is it that you most dislike?

Discrimination.  I always want to see fairness so I don’t have cliques and don’t want to see a ground that is not leveled.

What is your greatest regret?

I regret that I didn’t become a serious musician yet I was good at music in school. I would sing classical pieces and also learnt to play the guitar and the piano. I didn’t take it beyond school.

How would you like to die?

I would want to die in my sleep.

What is your motto?

Keep going.

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editors@independent.co.ug