The Law Development Centre (LDC) will have a second intake of lawyers to pursue the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice this academic year, the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka has told Parliament.
Members of Parliament (MPs) have over the years raised concern about the operations of the centre with MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (Central) on 29 November 2022 expressing their dismay at the high failure rates of students.
Since its inception in 1970, LDC has admitted students pursuing the Postgraduate Diploma under one intake. The centre is the only mandated teaching entity that offers the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, without which a university law graduate cannot practice law in the country as an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature.
However, an increase in the number of universities offering the undergraduate law degree leading to a substantial increase in the number of law graduates wishing to acquire the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice has led to increased pressure for LDC to admit more students.
“I am happy to report that government has worked with the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders and we are undertaking a second intake on January 06, 2025 to accommodate the 1,463 students who had not been taken,” he said.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka pointed out that admission letters have already been issued to the students for the January intake.
He promised to table before Parliament, the letter authorising LDC to ensure that all the applicants are admitted during the plenary sitting on Thursday, 26 September 2024.
The Attorney General explained that due to the increase in numbers of students released from universities, there were 2,600 applicants to join LDC, which can only take in about 1,300 of them.
He said that out of the 2,600 applicants, LDC admitted the first intake of 1,260 students for the September 2024 intake.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka’s revelation follows a concern raised by the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, in his communication during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, 25 September 2025.
Tayebwa told the Attorney General that he has received numerous calls from young lawyers who complained about failed attempts to secure admissions to LDC.
“They are saying they need government intervention urgently so that they are allowed to complete their legal practice certificate and start working,” Tayebwa said.
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, said that students are frustrated right from the stage of enrolment up to the point when they are leaving.
“The students need to know what is happening because even after studying for five years, they are stuck and they do not know what to do,” he said.
Kiryowa Kiwanuka acknowledged the challenge faced by the students, saying that LDC’s absorption capacity is not matching with the sector needs.
“In the last academic year alone, 800 students were carried over to the current academic year,” he said.
LDC majorly offers contemporary Bar Course that is tailored to the needs of the legal profession.
