Who is Silver Kayondo?
I am Silver Kayondo Mugambaniguru, a Mutooro from the Babiito clan. I was born in Kyenjojo and grew up in Fort Portal around Boma.
I am the son of Peter Tinkasiimire, an educationist, and Ruth Katabarwa, a politician. I grew up in a very big family, but I am the last-born in a family of four children to my mother.
I went to Buhinga primary school, St Leo’s College Kyegobe, before coming to Kampala for A-level at Bishop Cypriano Kihangire, after which I joined UCU for a degree in law. I continued to LDC where I emerged the best counsel in my year before moving to the University of Pretoria for my master’s degree. Kyegobe is known for football and its music band.
Did you engage in any of these?
I tried football and gave up. I was more of a talking person. Bishop Cypriano Kihangire was very strict with CCTV around the place. I had come from a single-sex school to a class of 77 girls and 11 boys.
I had a tough time catching up. Learning how to wash and iron every three days wasn’t easy. I got into serious trouble. I had to be up by 4 am, yet in Kyegobe morning preps were almost optional. I emerged the best in my class with 22 points.
Why law?
I loved being in intellectual spaces exchanging ideas and reading. My initial catch was either journalism or law. I did my internship at The Independent, after which I chose law having seen the pains journalists went through to get stories.
I was intuitively led to law because the lawyers I knew had more permissive professional walls, were affluent and had more chance for travel.
Where is Mrs Kayondo?
[Smiles] I am single. I follow a natural progression of life. I need time to first learn myself. First establish myself in terms of business and other things I want to achieve. I love giving nature a chance to do its thing. [Quick Talk asks whether Kayondo wants to be like former Kenyan attorney general, Charles Njonjo who famously wedded for the first time after 50]. Definitely not at 52. You need someone that you can enjoy. I think it will be in my 30s.
Who is the ideal Mrs Kayondo?
I love bad girls. I am a good boy; so, opposites attract. Since I work so hard and I’m always stressed, I need someone to bring colour into my life. Life is a tale of opposites.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Sheebah. I love bad girls. I like how spontaneous she is. [Smiles] My parents wouldn’t be happy with my choice but, I would be doing myself an injustice if I did not annoy them [bursts into laughter]. I had a very big crush on [Russian tennis star] Anna Kournikova while growing up
Which genre of music do you listen to?
It depends on the mood. I love pop music when out with friends. Drake, Pitbull… On a weekend, it is Kenny Rogers and when I am spiritual, I listen to Hillsong. I love Levixone’s song Mbeera – it is a deep song. It slaps different.
What do you do in your leisure time?
I love nature, especially crater lakes and reptiles. You shall find me hiking or enjoying crater lakes. Fort Portal has about 40 lakes [Kabarole district actually has a total of 52 crater lakes] and I have been to 30 of them. I have even bought one to establish my holiday home there. Also, I am a drone hobbyist.
So, what is it with these drones and the new regulations?
Drones are very agile technologies and they have very multiple use cases. They’re very big leapfrog enablers. With our poor infrastructure in our unplanned cities, drones give you quick navigation in crowd management, insurance.
Farmers with no farm titles can be allowed to use drones to take farm profiles to access agricultural credit. There’s an ongoing race for space that should not be a preserve of the world’s richest billionaires. We need to democratize space and aviation.
Our regulatory frameworks are benchmarked on very sophisticated economies, yet we are at the basics. Countries that are regulating now took a lot of time before they could kick in with regulations. If you regulate very infant industries, you risk killing innovation.
You could argue that mobile money grew and spread like wildfire because it was unregulated for a long time, which gave time for creativity and innovation. These drones are not on the curriculum in schools. Allow the skill base to widen and once it has been formed with a sizeable community of users, the same community could make the best recommendations for regulation. Self-regulation allows growth.
Surely, the security concerns are legitimate…
Government should shift the strategy to establishing drone corridors so that people can see how they can do it. The drone industry in Uganda is very small.
It is just photographers and journalists. These regulations are very prohibitive. For every technology, there’s a counter technology. Let them invest in drone-jamming systems and control. Prohibiting air spaces with jamming systems shall restrict the access by drones yet people shall be able to use them elsewhere in tourism and photography, among others.
What has been your outstanding experience professionally?
During my first job at K&K Advocates, we had three big cases in the Supreme court. Two banking disputes and the famous UBC and Haba group case. Preparing for court with senior lawyer Kiryowa Kiwanuka was outstanding for me… It is something not taught in school. We won all the cases.
So, you are now the ‘big boys’ in the industry…
[Depending] where you are, you are a big boy in your own right. The law is a very voluminous industry. Our work is to facilitate investment into Uganda and in the process help Uganda grow.
What does retirement look like in your imagination?
I hope to retire at 65, go back to Fort Portal at the crater lake. If resources permit, we could establish a private conservation area there.
What is your favourite book?
Play Nice But Win by Micheal Dell. People think results should come at the expense of playing nice but the book debunks that.
True… And what is the harshest reality you have encountered? You are empowered and have a voice only if you have a stature in society. People will listen to you more if you cannot just have knowledge but demonstrable knowledge. You must show what you have done to continue being a thought leader. The brutal reality is, if you drop off the rails, no one shall remember you.
What would you change in your life if you had the powers?
To be born in Silicon Valley [California]. There are benefits of geography and an ecosystem of where you are born. Some of the limitations around you are not your fault.
Do you have a favourite football team?
I have supported Man U since I was seven. Results are not the best at the moment. We are now like Liverpool.
And what is your one unappealing habit?
I tend to laugh and smile in very unpleasant situations. It is my coping mechanism, but very unpleasant.
Why are you and other elites growing big in the boda sector?
When you have fewer investment options, elite capture is inevitable. You will see this in the taxi industry. I still think if we are serious on secondary cities, there’s an opportunity to plan better and integrate the boda bodas.