The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has issued a warrant of arrest against the Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde on charges of insulting the modesty of a woman, particularly the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo.
The warrant of arrest was issued on Monday by the Court, presided over by Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi, after Ssemakadde failed to respond to criminal summons previously issued against him.
Kayizzi noted that on February 17, 2025, the court sanctioned the charges of insulting the modesty of a woman under Section 113 of the Penal Code Act against the accused, Isaac Ssemakadde.
He mentioned that on the same day, the court issued a criminal summons ordering Ssemakadde to appear in court on January 29, 2025.
However, Ssemakadde did not personally appear to take a plea. Instead, his lawyers, Derrick Bazekuketta and Nasser Kibazo, appeared on his behalf, under Article 28, Subsection 3(d) of the Constitution.
“Among other reasons advanced by the defense team on that day was that the accused person had a cough and was waiting for the ruling of the High Court in MA No. 30 of 2025. The court gave the accused person Isaac Ssemakadde the benefit of the doubt and extended the summons to the 24th of February 2025, which is today.
Today, on the 24th of February 2025, the accused person has not appeared in court for plea taking,” said Kayizzi.
Kayizzi noted that lawyer Derrick Bazekuketta still submits that Ssemakadde appeared through him, but insists he is waiting for the High Court decision in which he challenged how the criminal summons had been issued against him.
“In my last ruling, I ruled that much as the accused person can appear through advocates under Article 28, Subsection 3 of the Constitution, he or she must personally appear to take plea, as advocates cannot take plea on behalf of their clients.
The accused person is not in court today, he was duly served with summons, and the affidavit of service is on the record of court. It’s true that there is a pending application for stay before the High Court, but it is settled law that an application for a stay of proceedings does not operate as an order of stay of proceedings.
It follows, therefore, that there is no order of stay of the proceedings of this court,” said Kayizzi.
According to Kayizzi, Ssemakadde’s lawyers have not provided sufficient reasons for his absence in court today.
He noted that Buganda Road Court has issued criminal summons twice, both duly served on Ssemakadde, and therefore, cannot extend summons a third time.
“There are no convincing reasons advanced for this, therefore this court hereby invokes Section 55, Subsection 1 of the MCA and issues a warrant of arrest against the said Isaac Ssemakadde. The same shall be returned to this court on the 19th of March 2025. I so order,” said Kayizzi.
The charges for which Ssemakadde has been issued a warrant of arrest today were levied against him by his subjects, lawyers Joshua Byamazima and Tony Tumukunde.
On November 22, 2024, Byamazima and Tumukunde filed a complaint on oath and an affidavit in support thereof, seeking summons against Ssemakadde to appear and plead to the proposed charge of insulting the modesty of a woman, contrary to Section 115(3) of the Penal Code Act.
The two Private Prosecutors allege that on November 18, 2024, while addressing membersof the People’s Freedom Front (PFF) party at a “Symposium on the State of the Rule of Law, Constitutionalism, and Human Rights: The Kisumu 36 Tales” held at Katonga Road in Kampala District, Ssemakadde uttered obscene and indecent words against DPP Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo.
“All these things, like your particular kerfuffle, are then given legal dressing by this vagina from Karamoja,” reads the words in contention reportedly said by Ssemakadde.
Ssemakadde reportedly added, “I have made a case before that we have a pumpkin for a DPP, but some lawyers continue to pretend that she is actually the DPP… she is dead wood.”
The lawyers submitted a flash disk containing the video of the alleged utterances. Ssemakadde was summoned twice but defied the summons and opted to challenge the proceedings in the High Court, which has delayed handling his case.
Accordingly, Tumukunde and Byamazima asked for a warrant of arrest against him, which has been granted today.
This is the second warrant of arrest to be issued against Ssemakadde by the courts in less than two weeks.
The first one was issued by then Civil Division Judge Musa Ssekaana, now Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal Designate Judge, on February 14, 2025, after finding Ssemakadde in contempt of court.
Ssemakadde was convicted following his statements on social media (X, formerly Twitter), in which he criticized Judge Ssekaana’s decision to block the Extra-Ordinary Annual General Meeting for the Uganda Law Society (ULS), in which new representatives to the Judicial Service Commission were to be elected.
Ssekaana, who had personal issues with Ssemakadde dating back to 2022 when the lawyer had used vulgar language against him, seized the opportunity arising from lawyer Mugisha Hashim Mugisha to hand down a two-year jail term to Ssemakadde.
Ssekaana has since been criticized by the majority of the population for being a judge and a complainant in a case against him, knowing that he had other cases previously against Ssemakadde. Ssemakadde is still at large.
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