Days after he blocked the Uganda Law Society’s (ULS) extra extraordinary annual general meeting and elections that had been scheduled for December 17, 2024, Justice Musa Ssekaana of the High Court of Uganda has become the latest target of ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde’s attempt to bang tables.
BACKGROUND
The High court blocked the Uganda Law Society’s (ULS) extra extraordinary annual general meeting and subsequent elections that were initially slated for December 17, 2024.
The order issued last week by the civil division judge Musa Ssekaana arises from an application filed by one of the aggrieved members of ULS Hashim Mugisha Mugisha challenging the legality of the meeting and the manner in which the posts that were to be filled fell vacant.
In his application, Mugisha Mugisha listed ULS and seven other lawyers – the majority of whom wanted the EGM to continue as the respondents and two others; Phillip Munaabi and Geoffrey Turyamusiima the suspended secretary of ULS Council and Central region representative respectively.
The other lawyers listed were; Eddie Nangulu, Steven Kalali, Denis Kusasira, Elison Karuhanga, Prof Christopher Mbazira and Milton Ocen who have been doing campaigns and wanted to stand for various electives positions. The decision comes after an application was filed by Mugisha Mugisha, seeking to halt the elections due to alleged irregularities. According to court documents, Mugisha Mugisha sued ULS, Eddy Nangulu the interim secretary for the ULS Council and Phillip Munaabi the suspended secretary.
Mugisha Mugisha in his application sought several declarations and orders, including a declaration that the decision to expel Isaac K. Ssemakadde and Anthony Asiimwe as the president and vice president of ULS respectively by Munaabi was illegal. Mugisha also sought an order of certiorari (a court process seeking to review a decision of a lower court or a government agency) to quash the decision suspending Munaabi and Geoffrey Turyamusiima from the ULS Council by Ssemakadde, saying it was equally illegal.
Additionally, he is seeking a declaration that the meeting and decisions of the ULS Council dated November 24, 2024, were unlawful, irregular, and procedurally improper. The dispute has brought to the fore the internal conflicts within ULS, with some members accusing the society’s leadership of acting ultra vires and in contravention of the ULS Council Charter.
Mugisha, in his application, contends that he is an advocate of the High court of Uganda and a duly paid-up and subscribed member of ULS, with sufficient interest in the management and running of its affairs. He argues that the decisions made by the ULS Council were ultra vires, procedurally improper, and illegal. However, the opposing lawyers led by Steven Kalali argued that Mugisha Mugisha’s matter is an attempt to block the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for December 16, 2024.
Kalali claimed that the meeting had been scheduled to comply with a court decision in miscellaneous cause no.129 of 2024 Kalali vs ULS. He also stated that nominations for the election of ULS’ representatives to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) have been conducted, and candidates have paid nomination fees of Shs 2 million each.
“I have read and understood the pleadings filed in miscellaneous cause no.263 of 2024 and the applications thereunder. This matter is filed to prevent the holding of the society’s extraordinary general meeting on 17th December 2024 on spurious grounds” Kalali told the court.
The opposing lawyers and those in support of the decision stated that the Uganda Law Society Act does not require that notices for members of the society be strictly and specifically signed by the secretary. Meetings are convened by the Council.
“I am also aware that a fraudulent document issued by the society’s renegade and suspended secretary, Phillip Munaabi, purporting to expel the president and vice president had no legal or practical effect at all,” adds the affidavit.
He said that the orders sought are therefore largely cosmetic except for the orders calculated to block the conduct of the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for 17th December 2024 and to aid and benefit Munaabi. However, in his decision, justice Ssekaana granted a temporary injunction, restraining the ULS from implementing a council decision made on November 24, 2024.
Additionally, the court has blocked the ULS from convening an extraordinary general meeting, or any subsequent meeting, until the main cause is determined. In his ruling, Ssekaana emphasized that the court must keep in mind the principles of justice and fair play. He noted that the applicants had shown that the balance of convenience lies in maintaining the status quo, as the extraordinary general meeting was intended to perpetuate alleged illegalities.
Ssekaana also observed that the damage caused by the suspension of Munaabi and the representative of the Central region is serious and material. He ruled that restoring the previous status quo is the only solution to adequately address the issues and remove the impasse in the conduct of council affairs.
Furthermore, the court has issued mandatory injunctions, restoring Munaabi as secretary and council member of the ULS, as well as restoring Turyamusiima as Council member. He said these orders will remain in effect until the final disposal of the main cause.
It should be recalled that earlier on November 27, chief justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo permitted all courts to adjourn all matters where lawyers are involved for them to participate in the general meeting which has now been blocked by Ssekaana.
The ULS Council led by Ssemakadde called for the meeting to discuss several issues including elections of the representatives of lawyers to statutory bodies like the Judicial Service Commission and also to replace Turyamusiima and Munaabi who had attempted to replace the president in a failed coup.
In return, Ssemakadde said Munaabi had no powers to suspend the president and thus he (Ssemakadde) also suspended Munaabi. In November 2024, Ssemakadde recalled lawyers Ruth Sebantindira and Norah Matovu Winyi from the Judicial Service Commission arguing that they have been unconstitutionally and unlawfully holding out as ULS nominees to the JSC since 2016.
Ssemakadde referred to a February 2, 2024, High court judgement by civil division judge Boniface Wamala declaring that the current practice of appointing ULS representatives to statutory bodies without holding elections was a breach of the 1956 Uganda Law Society Act and the ULS Elections Regulations 2016.
Report: The Observer
In an Executive Order RNB NO. 3 OF 2024, Ssemakadde rallied members of the society on the boycott of Judge Musa Ssekaana. In the executive order, Ssemakadde said that the Uganda Law Society Council, in exercise of its powers under Section 10 of the Uganda Law Society Act, had resolved to announce the boycott of Judge Musa Ssekaana because of at least 18 instances of judicial misconduct attributed to him.
He listed the instances of misconduct as including abuse of power, claiming that Ssekaana had used his office to obtain special treatment for relatives and friends.
Ssemakadde also accused Ssekaana of bias and prejudice. He alleged that the judge had been displaying bias and prejudice in his rulings, violating the principles of impartiality.
He also accused him of disregarding the law, and ignoring the law in court, citing invalid laws or precedents; of failure to recuse himself from cases despite clear conflicts of interest; as well as of using his position to intimidate and harass advocates and other court users.
Ssemakadde has announced the withdrawal of the ULS Award of ‘Excellence from the Bench’ previously granted to Judge Ssekaana in September 2021; directed Judge Ssekaana to return the said award and remove any reference to it from his website, curriculum vitae, and all other publications where he has listed it as an achievement; and urged all members of the ULS to boycott Judge Ssekaana for a period of one month, effective immediately.
In his order, Ssemakadde also noted that the Uganda Law Society holds the Principal Judge accountable for failing to take appropriate administrative action against Judge Ssekaana, despite numerous complaints against him. This, he continued, has enabled Judge Ssekaana to continue his misconduct, undermining the integrity of the judiciary.
Ssemakadde also directed the Judicial Service Commission to expedite the investigations of all complaints against Judge Ssekaana since 2018 to date and publish the findings by 15 January 2025.
The legal rebel was also explicit on the consequences of non-compliance. “Any member of ULS found to be in non-compliance with this Executive Order will be referred to the ULS Disciplinary Committee, which will determine and take appropriate disciplinary action,” Ssemakadde directed.
He also noted that there would be a review of the boycott and judiciary performance report 2024 during the general meeting before 31 January 2025.
Since becoming ULS president, Isaac Ssemakadde has been living up to his promise of banging tables. Last week, he punched holes in President Museveni’s letter defending trial of civilians in military courts, as reported Here.
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