The new Assistant Secretary General ( programmes) Mr Karangizi,  brings over 25 years of experience both in Legal and regional integration. He is  the second Assistant Secretary General (programmes) since the creation of COMESA.

Career Highlights

Before joining COMESA he was a Legal Advisor to the Attorney General of Antigua and Barmuda, West Indies on secondment from 1990 to 1993; Legal Advisor to the National Assembly of Uganda from 1988 to 1990 and a Senior Law Officer with the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Zimbabwe from 1983 to 1988. He worked briefly in private legal practice after initial graduation.

During his fifteen years service for COMESA Mr. Karangizi has been part of the Senior Management Team of COMESA contributing to many programmes that have seen the deepening of Regional Integration in the region. Those contributions have included: participating in drafting the COMESA Treaty in 1993; Establishment of the COMESA Court of Justice in 1997/1998; Participation in Establishment of the COMESA Fund ; Participation in the launch of the COMESA Free Trade Area; Participation in defining the COMESA Common Investment Area; Establishment of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI); Launch of new COMESA Programmes particularly on Peace and Security; Procurement Reform; Migration and Labour Policies; and  Institutional Strengthening of COMESA and its institutions.

Mr. Karangizi was also elected as Chairman of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in July 2006 for one year. He has also been a visiting Resource Person to many Regional and International Capacity Building Centres on Regional Economic Integration.

Education

Mr. Karangizi holds Bachelor of Law Degree with Honours (LL.B. (Honours)) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (1981) and Masters in Laws (LL.M) Degree from the University of Zimbabwe (1988) having specialised in International Economic Law and Legal Drafting. He is also a registered Legal Practitioner in the jurisdictions of Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Achievements 

Mr. Karangizi has authored many publications including the following Articles:

• Customs Enforcement and Management in a Regional Integration Arrangement: The Case of COMESA, Published in 2002 in “Treaty Enforcement and International Cooperation in Criminal Matters” by Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
• The COMESA Public Procurement Reform Initiative: Published in 2005 “The Public Procurement Law Review” published by Sweet and Maxwell.
• Legal Framework for doing Business in COMESA (1998), published by COMESA.

Personal 

Mr. Karangizi is married with four children.