Being justice beyond the courtroom: A story of service, leadership, and building CERTA to protect, advocate, and reimagine what the law can do.
Published: January 21, 2026
There are moments in life when clarity does not come from knowing where you are going, but from recognizing what you cannot accept.
This conversation reminded me that many meaningful careers begin this way. Not with a polished plan, but with a problem that stays with you. Something you keep returning to. Something that quietly asks to be addressed.
For Mrs. Florida Kabasinga, that problem appeared early.
As a secondary school student in Uganda during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, she became deeply aware of how unfair life could be. Displacement, fear, and uncertainty shaped her understanding of the world long before she had language for law or justice.
“I remember clearly thinking that the rest of my life would be dedicated to getting justice for the victims of the genocide and survivors, and I knew the way to do that was by getting a law degree.”
She did not yet know what justice would look like in practice. She did not know where that decision would take her. But she knew what the problem was, and she knew she could not ignore it.
For students and new graduates, this matters. You do not need a complete roadmap to begin. Often, clarity starts with naming the problem you care enough to solve.
Once she made that decision, her choices began to align around it.
Born in Kampala and educated across Uganda in Catholic boarding schools, she learned structure and responsibility early. She chose her subjects intentionally, knowing they would prepare her for legal studies and sharpen how she thought about society and fairness.
At Makerere University, she leaned into opportunities that stretched her. She competed in the All Africa Human Rights Moot Court Competition and won the African championship with her teammate. She speaks about it lightly now, but it was an early confirmation that she belonged in spaces that demanded preparation, rigor, and courage.
Her journey continued beyond borders. She worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha and later earned a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame. Each step deepened her understanding of how law operates across systems and contexts.
Training in a common law system and returning to Rwanda’s civil law environment reshaped how she viewed law itself.