Othembi leaves LDC after 12 years as director

The director of the Law Development Center (LDC) Frank Nigel Othembi has left the institution after 12 years at his helm, Monitor you have learned.

On Wednesday evening, Othembi confirmed to this publication that his tenure had ended on April 30, noting that his successor will be named soonest.

“Yes, it’s true my tenure lapses at the end of April after 12 years of service. “I expect a new director to be named shortly,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Othembi commended LDC staff for the support given him during his tenure.

“I will be departing the center after 12 years of service as director. I thank you for your commitment and support in promoting A Tradition of Legal Excellence,” he wrote in his communication to the staff.

He added: “The LDC management committee has met and taken necessary action on appointing a new director which will be communicated to you in due course. Wishing you all the very best.”

Othembi’s tenure will, among others, be remembered for having the highest failure rate of law students at the prestigious Bar Course, going up to 80 percent.

Likewise, his leadership was rocked with major cases of examination malpractice at the institution, a move that saw a forensic committee set up to investigate the massive allegations of impropriety in its examination processes and examination results.

Massive examination malpractice was reported between Academic Years 2004/05 to 2010/11 with prominent politicians Fred Mukasa Mbidde and Michael Mabikke petitioning court, challenging the LDC forensic audit that had declared their Post Graduate Diplomas fake and invalid.

Flipping the other side of the coin, it was during his tenure that LDC decentralized the institution by opening two branches upcountry in Lira and Mbarara cities with a third campus set to be opened in the eastern city of Mbale later this year.

It remained unclear by press time where Othembi, formerly a magistrate before he was appointed LDC director, was leaving after LDC.