High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana has ordered the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Uganda Law Society-ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde for two years after finding him guilty of contempt of Court.
Ssemakadde is being jailed following his statements on social media and letters criticizing the decision by Ssekaana to block the Extra Ordinary Annual General Meeting for lawyers where they were supposed to elect new representatives of the lawyers to the Judicial Service Commission, after saying Norah Matovu Winyi and Ruth Sebatindira were there illegally.
Ssemakadde now becomes the second lawyer to be sent to prison by Justice Ssekaana. Last week, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court.
His first victim was lawyer Male Mabirizi whom he jailed for 18 months in 2022 and has since left prison.
In his decision arising from an application by Lawyer Hashim Mugisha Mugisha, Justice 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 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 has scandalized the court with his utterances, statements (tweets) and letters.
” A scurrilous attack on the presiding judge to show his frustration and disgust at the decision in Miscellaneous Application No.1243 of 2024 which was unfavourable to him and other respondents in that matter. 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.
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.
On Monday, Lawyers representing Hashim Mugisha Mugisha told the Court that when Justice Ssekaana blocked the Extra Ordinary Annual General Meeting for Uganda Law Society where elections for New representatives to the Judicial Service Commission were to be held, Ssemakadde reportedly used his X Handle to post disrespectful and prejudicial statements against the trial Judge.
” The writings published by the Respondent are calculated to scandalize and or lower the authority of court, prejudice or interfere with the due course of judicial proceedings in Miscellaneous Cause No. 263 of 2024 and to lower the authority of the trial Judge”, reads application by Mugisha Mugisha.
As a result, Mugisha Mugisha asked the Court to hold Ssemakadde in contempt of court and be thrown in jail or pay a 300million shillings fine for wantonly and arrogant disrespect of judicial officials which he said erodes the Public’s respect and confidence in the courts of law.
In this case, they asked the Court to allow them to proceed Exparte saying that Ssemakadde was served with a copy of the application but he neither made a response to it, nor did he appear personally in court or sent lawyers to represent him.
As a result, Justice Musa Ssekaana who is one of Ssemakadde’s alleged victims allowed the application to proceed Exparte without Ssemakadde and noted that he would rule on the matter by February 28th.
It should be noted that Ssekaana and Ssemakadde were at loggerheads when Ssekaana ordered lawyer Mabirizi to pay a fine of 300 million shillings for contempt of court and later a jail term of 18 months.
After that decision made in 2022, Ssemakadde used his X handle to criticize the Judge’s decision in a message crafted in vulgarity indicating that the size of Justice Musa Ssekaana ‘s penis was small, an issue that angered him to date.
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo asked Ssemakadde to apologize to Ssekaana but he insisted.
But his statements have since been challenged in the Constitutional Court by Lawyer Yasin Ssentumbwe for amounting to bias and interference and to be unconstitutional.
English 