It’s not every day that you read about the inspiring story of a child who educates himself and becomes a successful lawyer who helped to reclaim the father’s family land that had been taken from them more than 23 years ago.
This is the story of Jordan Kinyera, a Ugandan lawyer who successfully argued and won the case of his father at the High Court of Appeal in their country.
Jordan was only six years old when his father lost his family-owned piece of land, and in 18 years Jordan ended up studying law, not knowing that one day that qualification would prove crucial in reclaiming what the family had lost more than two decades earlier.
The land dispute began when Kinyera ‘s neighbors sued them and then ended up owning the land.
Speaking to CNN Jordan, he said it was painful for his family because his father could not fulfill his plans for his land, and he was pleased that the hard work he had put into law paid off and managed to help his father reclaim his land.
He remembers growing up with his father complaining that some people were trying to grab his piece of land in the Northern District of Uganda called Kitgum.
Inspired by some of these life events, he spent 18 years studying law and education, and decided to take up the case.
He told CNN that the entire land dispute left an indelible mark on him and resolved to become a lawyer to help others face the same challenges that his family had faced.
His father had a land title certificate, but he couldn’t work on it because of the issues involved.
He was a retired civil servant who had lived on the land for a number of years and had an emotional attachment to it, and had the graves of some of his deceased relatives there.
