Mao initiates dialogue between ULS head, judges
Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo (L) hosts Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde at his residence in Nakasero, Kampala on November 1, 2024. PHOTO/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- For close to three weeks, Mr Ssemakadde has reportedly been living in exile
Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Norbert Mao has initiated peace talks between the self-exiled president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) Isaac Ssemakadde and judges including Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo.
For close to three weeks, Mr Ssemakadde has reportedly been living in exile after Justice Musa Ssekaana on February 14, found him guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Last week, Buganda Road Court also issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Ssemakkade to have him brought to court to answer to charges of insulting the modesty of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo.
“The whole morning, I have been trying to create a thin shaky bridge between government and the radical new bar and I have been praying about it. I have talked to the Chief Justice. I have talked to the Attorney General. I have talked to Justice Ssekaana,” Mr Mao said last Friday while addressing Christian lawyers in Kampala.
He added: “I lamented the fact that the president of the law society is out. I don’t know the status maybe exile. I told them the definition of exile by the man called Ambrose Bierce who wrote the book called, The Devil’s Dictionary, and in that book, he defined exile as a person who serves his country from abroad without being an ambassador.”
The minister said he questioned the Attorney General and the judges who have collided with Mr Ssemakadde on whether they now feel that they are back on the right track after forcing him to flee the country.
“…And I even amused them by saying their actions have made Isaac Ssemakadde look more powerful by serving his country from abroad without being an ambassador,” Mr Mao said.
The minister has asked judges to look at the law society not as an enemy but as a body that plays an important role in the country.
In a related development, lawyers representing the ULS have written to the administrator of the Court of Appeal, requesting urgent handling of three matters, including an appeal against Mr Ssemakadde’s two-year jail sentence.
“The ULS, which is the mother of the Judiciary, is at a critical juncture, necessitating prudent Bar-Bench collaboration to address the pressing internal issues and uphold the integrity of the legal profession,” counsel Paul Mukiibi wrote.
By press time, the court administrator had not yet responded to the issues raised by Mr Mukiibi.
