Young, ambitious and determined, these lawyers are distinctive by having launched their own firms very early on, being pioneers in their fields or even combining their brilliant careers as lawyers with another fruitful professional occupation. These are their profiles.
Tebello Kutoane (South Africa), 29, founder of a law firm entirely owned by women
A lawyer at the High Court of South Africa since June 2019, Tebello founded and runs her own consultancy firm, Collective Intelligence, based in Midrand, a firm wholly owned by black women that provides legal advice individuals and startups.
Co-Intelligence was born out of a need to empower and represent black women in the legal sector, who are marginalised.
Tebello Kutoane’s goal is to employ young black lawyers, mentor them and equip them for the challenges of the legal profession. For the young lawyer, Co-Intelligence is just the start of her project as she plans to expand the business to incorporate other divisions and advisory offices across South Africa.
Sinenhlanhla Passcara Mthembu (South Africa), 25, the youngest founder of a law firm in South Africa
Sinenhlanhla Passcara Mthembu is the founder and director of Passcara and Partners Incorporated, based in Durban. She only announced the launch of her firm on 3 February 2020 and is counting on her clients to recommend her company to other potential clients in order to develop her firm. Besides being a young and ambitious lawyer, Mthembu is also a YouTube content creator who shares beauty tips with her followers.
Tabitha Githere (Kenya), Lawyer and award-winning DJ
Nicknamed “Dj Tabz”, Tabitha Githere, is currently Associate Legal Counsel at Safaricom, the largest telecommunications company in Kenya and East Africa. She is also arguably one of Kenya’s best DJs in an area which is predominantly male.
Dj Tabz has won several awards including the Most Promising DJ of the Year Award in 2015 at the Groove Awards, an awards event in Kenya. The young woman trained as a DJ at the System Unit DJ Academy in Kenya. The young DJ also holds a law degree from the University of Nairobi. In early 2018, she was admitted to the bar as an attorney at the High Court of Kenya.
Elizabeth Owusua (Ghana), Lawyer by day and nurse by night
Elizabeth Owusua trained in nursing and midwifery in Korle Bu where Korle-Bu University Hospital, Ghana’s first health care facility, is located. She obtained a nursing degree there in 2008 and began working as a nurse in 2010, after completing her national service. Subsequently, Elizabeth continued her education at Central University College to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, while working, and graduated in 2013.
In 2014, Elizabeth Owusua applied and was admitted to Gimpa Law School in Accra, to obtain an undergraduate law degree. She was studying at the same time as being a night nurse at the hospital. In 2017 she obtained her Master of Laws degree and she was admitted to the Ghana Bar in October 2019.
Maureen Kunga (Kenya), 31, singer, songwriter, YouTuber and lawyer at the High Court of Kenya
A lawyer at the High Court of Kenya, Maureen Kunga is also a singer, songwriter and member of Elani – a Kenyan music group that has become well-known since 2014. Also a pianist and passionate about cooking, she obtained her law degree at the University of Nairobi and had obtained an A grade in the Kenya Secondary School Baccalaureate (KCSE). With Elani, Maureen Kunga has won several Pan-African awards at ceremonies such as the Channel O Music Video Awards, the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) and the Kenya Kona Awards.
Through her legal work, Mauren Kunga advises musicians on the legal aspects of the creative industry, including their rights and how to protect them. She is also a master of ceremonies and has hosted various events and panel discussions across Kenya.
Phiona Mirembe, 32, the lawyer who wants to be president of Uganda
Phiona Mirembe is the founder of law firm Mirembe and Company Advocates, which she founded in 2014, at the age of 26. Since its inception, Cabinet Mirembe has provided legal services to hundreds of clients on issues such as land transactions and corporate law. “My parents wanted me to work for government as a state attorney but I am glad I did not because I would now be very sad. It is inked in my blood that I love to spearhead things. I knew from the word go that I would make a very bad employee because I don’t like a snail’s pace”, she said in an interview with Ugandan newspaper The Observer.
Although Ugandan law does not allow the creation of a law firm until two years after graduation, the ambitious Phiona Mirembe, along with her friend Linda Nabukenya, had already established her first firm during her studies, thanks in part to savings made from her scholarship and also to the work she was doing as a supplier manager at Stanbic Bank.
Born 3 January 1988, Phiona Mirembe received a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University (the largest in Uganda) in 2011 and a Legal Practice Diploma from the Law Development Center (LDC) in 2013. The Law Development Center is a Ugandan higher education institution that offers various legal courses ranging from one month to one year.
In 2019, the young lawyer expressed her intention to be a candidate in the next presidential election in Uganda, scheduled for 2021. She will then be 33 years old and will follow in the footsteps of the former first lady of Uganda Miria Obote (candidate in 2006), Beti Olive Namisango Kamya (in 2011) and Maureen Waluube Kyala, who was a candidate in the last Ugandan presidential election.
She describes herself as a woman of very strong convictions and in one interview recalled a fact that prompted her to apply. “I did a transaction in late 2018, which I am still involved in and in this transaction, someone very highly placed in the government took advantage of a community of about 2000 people. He stole a big chunk of money that was supposed to be theirs and gave them very paltry figures. For me that really pained me and I asked myself; “If one person is able to do something like that to 2000 people, who knows what is happening in the rest of the country and why aren’t people coming out to do something about it?” At that point I was like “enough is enough, I need to do something for my country”, she said to the Towerpost.com.
Suzanne Taffot (Cameroon), the “Castafiore of law”
Suzanne Taffot is the founder of Taffot Avocate. Holder of two Masters degrees in corporate law in France, she passed her Montreal Bar exam with flying colours in 2013. She then specialised for three years in civil, immigration and family law within the office of Waïce Ferdoussi Avocats, before joining the team of Avocats Montréal in 2016.
Admitted to the Cameroon Bar in 2016, she is also developing a career in classical singing as a lyrical soprano. She holds a Masters degree in classical singing interpretation from the University of Montreal, which she obtained with an “Excellent” grade. She completed this training under the tutelage of the illustrious soprano Adrienne Savoie and the experienced vocal coach Louise Andrée Baril.
Her legal training has enabled her to have an in-depth knowledge of international law. Suzanne Taffot speaks French, English and Spanish which allows her to speak directly, without an interpreter, to the majority of her clients regardless of where they are from. Suzanne Taffot studied opera singing for fun and has performed on stages around the world. She is now considered a promising female soprano. She always liked to sing during her law studies, whether in a university choir in Cameroon or at the Regional Conservatory in Lyon, while she was doing her Masters there, then more diligently in Montreal. “The truth is, I never had this plan in mind. I was following the course of the river, as they say. I wanted to sing, I sang. I wanted to learn, I learned. Then, every time, I was told that I could go further, to let the instrument in me flourish more. Every time I accepted. I am terribly curious. I like to learn, “she said in an interview with the Opéra magazine in Quebec.
Born in Spain, Suzanne Taffot began her graduate studies at the University of Dschang in Cameroon, before completing her Masters in Lyon, where she also began taking voice lessons. After a career in France, she went through the immigration procedure for Canada, and she has lived in Quebec since 2010. It was there that she perfected her singing technique and obtained a Masters degree in classical song interpretation. A lawyer who sings, and a singer who practices law … “For a long time I avoided telling my law colleagues that I sang, and that I studied for it. But now I fully embrace this duality, even if the incomprehension remains. I’ve been asked, “But do you really plead cases?” as if it is not possible to do your job well other than by doing just that and nothing else. This is also the case in the other world. Am I really serious about my singing practice if I have a regular job? Each occupation enriches me as a person,” she said during the interview.
Suzanne Taffot is a member of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers, the Quebec Family Lawyers Association and the Association of African Lawyers in America. She has won several international competitions including the Ricardo Zandonai international competition in Italy, the Czech and Slovak international competition in the United States, and the international Alcamo competition in Italy. She was semi-finalist at the international competitions of Marmande and Marseille in France as well as at the international Hans Gabor-Belvédère competition in Cape Town in South Africa and was recently quarter-finalist at the prestigious Montreal International Musical Competition which was held last May.
She was named young lyric hopeful from Quebec between 2017 and 2018; has been a three-time laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (2014, 2015 and 2017) and also recipient of the Francis Poulenc Prize (French composer and pianist) for the best interpretation of a work by the composer.
Jamina Apio, Naomi Byabazaire, Shane Gloria Musanase, founders of the first multi-partner firm entirely led by women in Uganda, “Apio, Byabazaire, Musanase & Co. Advocates” (ABM)
ABM was ranked among the best trademark and intellectual property law firms in Uganda by the World Trademark Review 1000 in 2020. And Jamina Apio, its head of intellectual property, was ranked as the best lawyer in intellectual property rights. ABM also had the privilege of contributing to the Energy Investment Risk Assessment (EIRA), an International Energy Charter initiative based in Brussels, Belgium, thanks to their legal expertise and in-depth information from the field.
Jamina Apio holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University; and a post-graduate degree in legal practice from the Law Development Center, Kampala. She is a member of the Bars of Uganda and East Africa as well as a Commissioner for Oaths.
Naomi Byabazaire holds an MBA from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in Kampala and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University, Kampala. She is a member of the Bars of Uganda and East Africa as well as a Commissioner for Oaths.
Shane Gloria Musanase holds a Master of Laws in International Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation from the University of Warwick, UK. She also has a post-graduate degree in legal practice from the Law Development Center in Kampala and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University in Kampala.
She is an accredited mediator who obtained a certificate from the California State Bar in partnership with the Intellectual Property Rights Initiative. She is a member of the Bars of Uganda and East Africa and a Commissioner for Oaths as well.
Philile L. Mahlangu (E-Swatini), 32, co-founder of Dlamini Nkambula Mahlangu Attorneys
Holder of a Master (LL.M) in Law from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, she specialises in commercial law which encompasses banking law, competition law and information and technology law. She worked for a year at Nkomondze Attorneys and was admitted as a lawyer to the High Court of the Kingdom of Eswatini in 2017.
In 2018, she created her law firm which has two partners and three employees. In addition, she advocates for the rights of children and disadvantaged groups through community service and volunteer work.
Philile Mahlangu also runs another company where she employs 22 people, including 19 women. And she is a part-time lecturer at Eswatini University
Philile Mahlangu works to advocate for equality and fairness through legal and community services in Eswatini.
Precious Masuku-Gondwe (Malawi-Botswana), 31 years old, founder of Precious & Partners
Precious Masuku-Gondwe is the founder of Precious & Partners, of which she is the Chief Counsel, responsible for managing client relationships as well as talent acquisition and supervision and employment. She is a real estate lawyer, notary and member of the Law Society of Botswana.
Precious Gondwe received her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of South Africa, where she is currently studying for a Masters in Law. Her expertise and skills cover general litigation, administrative law, commercial and corporate law, digital law, electronic commerce, banking law, commercial litigation, debt collection, Alternative Dispute Resolution advocacy skills, legal research, mediation and negotiation as well as issues related to transport and property law.
Precious Masuku-Gondwe is, as a foreign lawyer, a Chartered Member of the Solicitor Regulator Authority (SRA), the regulatory body for lawyers in England and Wales. She also holds a Google Digital licence. A supporter of women’s empowerment, she founded a movement called Pan-African Game Changers in which she mentors and motivates a large number of young African women around the world. The aim is to encourage large numbers of African women entrepreneurs to run successful and, where possible, debt-free businesses.
As a Christian, she is an active member of her church, and she has participated as a speaker in motivational and educational seminars on law and business. Originally from Malawi, she is an active member of the National Human Rights Action Plan for people with albinism in Malawi. This initiative was launched to protect people with albinism from discrimination and violence. A humanitarian at heart, she donated to this cause and helped by advising how the government of Malawi can implement policies and laws that promote, protect and uplift people with albinism.
Tizyo Mary Bulaka (Zambia), 32, founder of TMB Advocates
Since June 2019, Tizyo Mary Bulaka has been the Founder and Managing Partner of TMB Advocates, a firm specialising in commercial and corporate transactions and dispute resolution. The firm has a diverse customer base that includes multinational corporations, private local businesses and individuals. Tizyo Mary Bulaka is also a director at Urban Brands Asset Management Limited (a hotel and construction company). Her main areas of specialisation include corporate and project finance.
Tizyo Mary Bulaka holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Trade Law from the City University of Zambia and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Zambia (UNZA). She has 8 years of experience including international experience in commercial and corporate transactions, having worked at Pinsent Masons, one of the leading companies in the UK. She has received extensive training in corporate law, commercial law and dispute resolution from various large companies in the UK. She is a graduate of ILFA (International Lawyers for Africa).
Prior to starting her business, Tizyo Mary Bulaka worked as a partner lawyer at Chifumu Banda & Associates and as chief legal counsel and company secretary for Zambia Credit Guarantee Scheme Limited, a private company 100% owned by the government of Zambia. She was also the director of Elijah Mission International Zambia Limited (a non-profit organization) aimed at promoting the well-being of children and women. She has served as Chair of the Law Reform and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Zambia and also Secretary of the Country Young Lawyers Committee.
Her goal is to advise young female lawyers and equip them with relevant skills that will enable them to succeed in their careers.
