KAMPALA, Uganda | The Uganda Law Society (ULS) president, Isaac Ssemakadde, has rejected his appointment to the Law Reform Committee, saying that Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo is compromising public accountability and promoting judicial tyranny.

Ssemakadde sent a strongly worded letter on June 17 saying, “I decline the appointment.” Your demand for an apology, my expulsion from the programme, and your statement that the Bar was not welcome in “your home” at the opening of the New Law Year on February 7, 2025, have all planted the seeds of discord.

“I have been forced into indefinite exile due to a manifestly void order that has been pending expungement for far too long,” he said, raising concerns about “the judiciary’s credibility, fairness, and efficiency.”

Ssemakadde went on to say that the Masaka ULS chapter is on strike due to valid worries about the ongoing, insufficient number of judges and registrars. Advocates for a population of more than 2,000,000 have laid down their tools, and with good reason—there are 4,290 cases backlogged before a single judge and registrar.

Ssemakadde asserts that clients who appear in court to seek justice are not sufficiently represented by the bar. The fact that Masaka is not an exception to this rule raises concerns because ‘uncontrolled judiciary hardware’ is a deliberate phrase used by the Chief Justice to boast about buildings and cars ballooning the judiciary budget every year, leading to unacceptable delays and injustices. The justice you left behind was denied by delays.

Even though this appointment seems advantageous, I have been forced to decline it due to your incitement of Judge Ssekana’s egregious judicial misconduct, which currently prohibits me from participating in the Law Reform Committee. Specifically, his unlawful contempt of court committal order against me on 14 February 2025, allegedly for insulting him on X, formerly Twitter.” Ssemakadde penned

He called the colonial-era law on “scandalising the judiciary” “a blunt instrument of judicial tyranny” that unfairly restricts freedom of expression, a fundamental right in a free and democratic society, and urged the Law Reform Committee to give it top priority.

This heartbreaking letter from Uganda Law Society President Isaac Ssemakadde has not yet received a response from the judiciary or Chief Justice Alphonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo.

Ssemakadde suggested that ULS vice president Anthony Asimwe take over the appointment, saying, “I have complete faith in his abilities to contribute to the noble endeavour of law reform.”