Who is Mercy Kainobwisho, the new URSB Registrar General?

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) board has appointed Mercy Kyomugasho Kainobwisho as the new Registrar General.

She takes over from Bemanya Twebaze who is the Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organisation.

Kainobwisho has been Director, Intellectual Property Directorate, a position she has held since February 2017.

At URSB, Kainobwisho has risen through the ranks having joined as Manager, Directorate of Intellectual Property November 2011 to October 2014. She went on to become director, Business Registration, in the Directorate of Business Registration, holding the position from October 2014 to February 2017.

Prior to joining URSB, she served as State Attorney, at the Department of the Registrar General at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs from 2005 to 2011.

She joined the ministry from Shonubi Musoke & Co Advocates where she was a Legal Assistant for a year from October 2004 to October 2005.

Competences

Kainobwisho is a qualified, competent and experienced female Advocate of the High Court of Uganda with 15 years experience specializing in Intellectual Property Law, Business Law, Project Management, Oil and Gas law, Leadership and General Management.

She holds a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property (LLM), University of Turin, Italy, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Makerere University, Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Law Development Center (LDC), Kampala and Bachelor of Laws Degree (LLB), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

She has more than 17 research articles and publications under her name in local and international journals and professional publications.

Amongst many other present and former memberships to various professional committee, she is the sitting Vice Chairperson of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Coordination Committee. She is also a member of the Human Capital Committee, at the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation(ARIPO) where she is also the Chairperson , Selection Committee of the Director General.

In Uganda, she has also been a member of the Multi-sectoral Committee of the National Intellectual Property Policy as well as a Member of the National Expert Group for Technology Transfer and Utilization of Intellectual Property. She has also been a Program Manager, for the Taxpayer Register Expansion Program (TREP), a joint project with Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda Revenue Authority, Kampala Capital City Authority and the Ministry of Local Government.

In 2019, she was named among the Best 40 influential Women in Africa by the African Diversity and Inclusion Center – a non-profit that aims to make increased diversity and inclusion on the African continent.

Kainobwisho is a member of the Uganda Law Society, East African Law Society, Uganda Women Lawyers Association (FIDA-Uganda), Rotary International – Bukoto Club and Toastmasters International