The President of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde, has turned down an appointment to the Law Reform Committee, citing what he calls a breakdown in the relationship between the Judiciary and the legal profession under Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo’s leadership.
In a strongly worded letter dated 17 June 2025, Ssemakadde accuses the Chief Justice of fostering a culture of “tyranny and oppression” and ignoring efforts by the Radical New Bar (RNB) faction of ULS to seek dialogue on urgent judicial issues. He referenced a January 2025 letter from the ULS Governing Council requesting a consultative meeting a request he says was dismissed, escalating tensions further during the opening of the New Law Year in February.
He particularly condemned the deteriorating state of judicial services across the country, pointing to the ongoing lawyers’ strike in Masaka due to severe case backlog and inadequate judicial deployment. “With a backlog of 4,290 cases before one judge and registrar in Masaka alone, justice is not only delayed, but denied,” he stated.
Ssemakadde also raised deep concerns over the conduct of Justice Musa Ssekaana, who was the subject of an RNB-led boycott earlier this year. He said the Court of Appeal’s recent findings in Kiwanuka v. Kiwanuka, which exposed breaches of procedural fairness by Justice Ssekaana, vindicated the boycott. He further criticized the Chief Justice for failing to address allegations of judicial misconduct, instead allegedly enabling persecution.
Central to his rejection of the appointment is what he described as an unlawful committal order issued against him by Justice Ssekaana on 14 February 2025, in response to critical comments he made on social media. He said the order has forced him into “indefinite exile” and symbolizes the Judiciary’s intolerance to criticism.
Calling for urgent reforms, He urged the Law Reform Committee to prioritize scrapping archaic contempt of court laws that stifle free speech. He quoted Lord Justice Simon Brown, arguing that even the most scathing criticism should be met with “a wry smile” in a functioning democracy.
In closing, Ssemakadde recommended ULS Vice President Anthony Asiimwe as his replacement on the Committee, expressing confidence in his integrity and capacity to represent the legal profession.
His letter lays bare the deepening rift between sections of the legal fraternity and the Judiciary, raising serious questions about judicial independence, transparency, and accountability in Uganda.