ULS Elections in Limbo as Isaac Ssemakadde Blames Court Battles for Impasse

The leadership of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) is facing serious uncertainty as a bitter dispute brews over the legitimacy of the current executive council. Representing a professional body of over 4,000 lawyers, the leadership question came to a head when Chief Justice Flavian Zeija stated that the council’s two-year tenure had officially ended in August, leaving them without a mandate to govern.

Speaking on the matter, Justice Zeija maintained that the current term had lapsed, making the issue of leadership a matter of concern for the legal fraternity. This remark followed a public call by ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde urging lawyers to boycott the Chief Justice’s upcoming Thanksgiving ceremony in Rukungiri.

However, Mr Ssemakadde has strongly dismissed accusations that his administration is illegally clinging to power. According to the ULS Act, elected officials serve terms that can stretch to a maximum of two years. Ssemakadde contends that ongoing litigation and court orders are the sole reason fresh elections have not yet taken place.

More than 20 cases pending in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have created an electoral standstill, according to the ULS president. He argued that it is hypocritical for judicial officials to block the electoral process through court injunctions and subsequently accuse the council of delaying the handover of power.

Ssemakadde emphasized that the independent professional body belongs strictly to its members rather than the judiciary or the government. He also criticized the judicial system for allegedly giving preferential treatment to cases brought against the ULS while stalling appeals initiated by the society itself.

For more details on this unfolding legal impasse, read the original report on Daily Monitor.