Date of initial appointment to the judicial roster: 18 June 2026
Current term: 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2028
Judge Joyce Kavuma has been a Judge of the Mechanism since June 2026.
Aside from her duties as a Mechanism Judge, Judge Kavuma serves as Head of the Civil Division of the High Court of Uganda since March 2025.
Earlier in her career, Judge Kavuma worked, inter alia, as a Magistrate (2000-2008) and, later, Chief Magistrate (2008-2014) across several courts in Uganda. She also served in various administrative roles, including assignments as Acting Assistant Registrar at the Court of Appeal and Mediation Registry in the Commercial Division of the High Court. In 2018, Judge Kavuma was appointed as Judge of the High Court of Uganda.
Judge Kavuma has been an active participant in judicial training and professional development for over 20 years, with a focus on human rights, gender justice, and anti-trafficking work in Uganda and the broader region. She notably served as Judicial Coordinator for the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery/International Association of Women Judges, contributing to the development of Uganda's Judicial Bench Book on Trafficking in Persons (2020-2022). She is also the Vice President and executive member of the International Association of Women Judges Uganda Chapter. She is also a Ciarb Fellow (2026) and has been involved in mediation and training of mediators.
Judge Kavuma holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (1996), a post graduate diploma in legal practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala (1998), a post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management from Uganda Management Institute (2006), a master’s degree in management studies from Uganda Management Institute (2016), and a Master of Laws from Uganda Christian University, Mukono (2016).