Multi-pronged task for new rebel law group leader?

The election of Isaac Ssemakadde as president of the Uganda Law Society, which attracted unprecedented interest in and outside of the legal community, raises questions about what the expectations are from the general public and the law professionals who overwhelmingly voted for him. '... here was a wild-haired, wild-eyed and wildly dressed guy seeking to lead the country’s lawyers, whom the public associates with sharp suits, Mercedes Benz with trappings that define elitism and money, writes Joachim Buwembo in The East African. 'The election also recorded the highest voter turnout in ULS’ history and the dreadlocked rebel won it with a dizzying landslide, nearly tripling the opponent’s ballots.' The narrow perception of Ssemakadde' role, says Buwembo, is to fight the government of the day as the January 2026 general election draws near. He notes that the Law Society is not just another professional body to promote members’ interests. 'ULS is a national body created by an Act of Parliament to, among others, “protect and assist the public in Uganda in all matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law, and to assist the government and the courts in all matters affecting legislation and the administration and practice of law in Uganda.” When the vast majority of the country’s qualified lawyers – half of them presumably wealthy and respected – chose to pick an openly angry rebel who says he thinks anti-clockwise as their leader, they knew what mandate they were handing him and what he can use it for.' With increasing reports of corruption and poor governance, involving not only public servants, but NGOs, religious groups, cultural institutions and the business community, the special mandate of the ULS has never been so relevant, writes Buwembo. 'In a nutshell, the Big Brother Ssemakadde has to fight is not numerically one individual. His Goliath has four m i l l i o n heads and he will need four m i l l i o n slings and as many stones to slay him. Unless four m i l l i o n people actively join him,' he says.