KAMPALA-Some members of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) council, have expressed disatisfaction with the endless litigations in several courts of law against the Association’s leadership which is said to have been one of the inconveniences that have delayed work in Ssemakadde’s regime.
It should remembered that on Thursday, ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde lost a case in which he had wanted Court to stay the implementation of the two years imprisonment sentence which was handed over to him by High Court judge then Musa Ssekaana. On the same day, on the same day justice Bernard Namanya issued an injunction halting the elections of ULS representatives to Judicial service commission which were scheduled to be held on Saturday 18th October 2025.
“The vastly different handling of these two routine court applications shows that fighting for a clean judiciary is a messy undertaking. The Radical New Bar is facing retaliation from those who benefit from the status quo: corrupt judges mired in partisan politics, unscrupulous lawyers and politicians, and rapacious business tycoons who exploit a compromised judiciary.”
These pointed out that, President Isaac Ssemakadde’s exile is a testament to the lengths to which these forces will go to silence dissent.
“Yesterday’s rulings are also a direct assault on our unity and autonomy as the national bar association, a cowardly attempt to usurp the authority of a self-governing institution of over 7,000 members through judicial and executive overreach. However, as the society’s duly authorized office bearers, we stand firm and refuse to be intimidated. Our actions have clearly had an impact, and we are flattered that they have not gone unnoticed.”
WAY FORWARD:
These have issued their next step after the double frustration they received from the said rulings.
Defending the independence and integrity of the ULS is a collective responsibility of all legal professionals. Lawyers must be free to perform their professional duties and exercise their Article 29 constitutional rights without fear of prosecution, administrative reprisal, economic sanctions, or other forms of intimidation, harassment or interference.
“It is time for all lawyers of conscience to take a united stand against judicial overreach, abuse of power, and the weaponization of justice. Let us start by demanding the immediate restoration of our appeals to the Court of Appeal’s cause-list. This would potentially terminate over 20 ongoing High Court cases and remove the looming threat of criminal prosecution against RNB officials based on Ssekaana’s 14th February 2025 rulings, not to mention setting aside the President’s illegal sentence.”
These noted that, despite of their differences in opinion or otherwise, they must collectively decry the selective deprivation of due process, which is glaringly evident in the abrupt removal of critical appeals from the Court of Appeal’s cause-list on 10 July 2025, unfairly disadvantaging the Radical New Bar and undermining the rule of law.
” Secondly, we must be prepared to stage a historic boycott against the recruitment of Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo’s successor, in utter disregard of Constitutional Petition 12 of 2025 and Constitutional Application 11 of 2025, wherein ULS challenges the operationalization of an improperly composed Judicial Service Commission (absent ULS nominees) and potentially unconstitutional regulations gazetted on 21 January 2025.”
These also added that they shouldn’t no longer tolerate creeping erosion of the rule of law through delayed hearing and disposal of critical petitions/appeals that empowers the powerful to act with impunity.
“Thirdly, having reviewed the injunction in the first case, we have determined that the Society’s CLE calendar event slated for today can proceed safely.However, the trial judge acted erroneously by pre-judging the main case, purporting to alter the status quo and disregarding the clean hands doctrine among others.”
These have further emphasized it that, the President’s legal team will seek substantive and/or provisional redress from the Court of Appeal, having filed Civil Appeal 102 of 2025 on 18 February 2025, to challenge the abuse of judicial power, specifically via the outdated offence of “scandalizing the court.
This statement has been signed by Isaac Ssemakadde, President ULS, Anthony Asiimwe, Deputy President, Ssali Babu, Secretary, Isiko Arthur , Treasurer and representatives from the four regions of Uganda.
