Outrage over jail sentence for law society boss

Calls have been made for a neutral arbiter to resolve the impasse between a High Court judge and the head of the Ugandan Law Society (ULS) who has received a two-year jail sentence for contempt of court, sparking outrage in legal circles and adding to tensions between the judiciary and lawyers, notes Legalbrief. High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana ordered the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Isaac Ssemakadde for contempt in a case relating to him (the judge), reports The Independent Uganda. Ssemakadde is being jailed following statements on social media and letters criticising the decision by Ssekaana to block the Extra Ordinary Annual General Meeting for lawyers where they were supposed to elect new representatives to the Judicial Service Commission, after saying Norah Matovu Winyi and Ruth Sebatindira were there illegally. Last week, Ssekaana was promoted to the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court. Ssemakadde is the second lawyer to be sent to prison by Ssekaana. The first was lawyer Male Mabirizi whom he jailed for 18 months in 2022, and who has since been released. In his decision in the Ssemakadde matter, arising from an application by lawyer Hashim Mugisha Mugisha, Ssekaana ruled that the threat to judicial independence, through personal attacks on the judicial officers and peddling of disinformation and false information about judicial officers and decisions of court was amplified by social media must be checked. ‘Threatening statements like what the respondent (Ssemakadde) tweeted are extremely inappropriate and they are dangerous to the rule of law and ought to be punished.'

'The statements of the respondent have emboldened other members of the public who are now extending threats of sharing judicial officers’ telephone contacts and or residential addresses which poses a security risk,’ said Ssekaana. He noted that Ssemakadde had scandalised the court with his utterances, statements (tweets) and letters. He said Ssemakadde made a 'scurrilous attack’ on the presiding judge after a decision which was unfavourable to him. ‘This was an affront to the impartiality of the judge and the judiciary as an institution. Such serious and deliberate attacks undermine the dignity and authority of this court which cannot, and must not, be condoned’, held Ssekaana. According to The Independent Uganda, Ssekaana further ruled that the repeated nature of the attacks by a person knowledgeable in legal matters and duly elected as president of Uganda Law Society invites his court to send a strong warning and caution against future contemnors ‘foot soldiers’ and respondents in the main cause to desist from such conduct in future.

More on this in A Matter of Justice and General below

In a defiant statement, the ULS has rejected Ssekaana's ruling, notes Chimp Report. After the ruling, vice-president Anthony Asiimwe said: ‘Our president will never be detained.’ ‘If this blunt instrument of a misguided judicial officer was aimed at silencing our president’s voice and undermining our collective efforts, it has failed. I assure you, we will not be intimidated,’ he added. The ruling has been widely criticised by legal minds, including former Justice of the Supreme Court George Kanyeihamba. ‘The judge sat and heard a case against himself? Is this the way the Chief Justice promised to punish our president, Isaac Ssemakadde? Stay strong, my President. In the pearl of Africa, the unexpected happens,’ Kanyeihamba said. Ssekaana’s ruling is further revealing deep division between the ‘Radical New Bar’ and the Bench, which have been on a collision course since the ‘legal rebel’ was elected president of the Uganda Law Society. At the launch of the New Law Year, the Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, expressed displeasure with Ssemakadde’s conduct and ordered that the President of the National Bar Association not give a speech.

An editorial in The Monitor has appealed for a neutral arbiter to be immediately appointed to mediate this impasse between the Judiciary and Uganda Law Society before the matter gets out of hand. Tension between the leadership of the ULS and the judiciary seems to get worse with each passing day. The Monitor states that the world over, the Bar protects the Bench and does not attack them. In the past, the leadership of the Uganda Law Society stood with the judiciary when attacked. For example, in 2005, during the infamous siege of the High Court by the Black Mamba in an attempt to rearrest former Forum for Democratic Change leader Kizza Besigye and 22 People's Redemption Army suspects after a judge granted them bail, Uganda Law Society in solidarity protested against the unconstitutional move. This acrimonious relationship between the judiciary and ULS is not good for Ugandans seeking justice. We appeal to the leadership of the ULS and that of the judiciary to bury their differences and open a new chapter of the relationship between the Bench and the Bar. The editorial further states that the vice-president of the lawyers’ association, Anthony Asiimwe, had written a protest note to the Chief Justice about the events that happened during the New Law Year. Asiimwe has accused the Chief Justice of weaponising the judiciary to harass, intimidate and silence the lawyers.

Ssemakadde is facing legal challenges on other frons too, according to The Observer. In addition to the contempt case, he is embroiled in disputes over his radical decisions as ULS president to accusations of contempt of court and insulting a public official, specifically the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo. In one case, lawyers Tony Tumukunde and Joshua Byamazima are challenging an order issued by Ssemakadde in October 2024 which expelled Attorney-General Kiryowa Kiwanuka from the ULS Council. The petitioners argue that the decision was made without due process and disrupts the lawful composition of the council as outlined in the ULS Act. They claim that maintaining the expulsion undermines the council’s legitimacy, potentially invalidating its decisions and exposing the ULS to lawsuits. 

And at the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court, Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi is presiding over a case in which Ssemakadde is accused of ‘insulting the modesty of a woman’ under Uganda’s Penal Code. Lawyers Tumukunde and Byamazima allege that Ssemakadde made offensive remarks about DPP Jane Frances Abodo, referring to her as a ‘vagina from Karamoja’ and a ‘pumpkin for a DPP’. The court is expected to rule on whether to issue a warrant of arrest against Ssemakadde. Ssemakadde has defended his decision to expel the Attorney-General from the ULS Council, citing conflict of interest and professional misconduct. Meanwhile, lawyer Steven Kalali has petitioned the Constitutional Court to challenge the law on insulting the modesty of a woman, arguing that it is discriminatory as it only protects women, reports The Observer. The contempt matter before Ssekaana stemmed from an alleged disrespectful social media post following Ssekaana’s decision to block an extraordinary AGM of the ULS, which was set to elect representatives to the Judicial Service Commission. The petitioner, lawyer Mugisha Hashim Mugisha, was seeking a Shs 300m (about $81 000) fine or imprisonment for Ssemakadde, arguing that his statements erode public trust in the judiciary.