The issue at hand stems from Ssemakade's reaction against a ruling in December last year where Musa Sekaana halted the Uganda Law Society extra ordinary meeting that was set to take place on 17th December 2024.
Ssemakadde accused Ssekaana of bias, corruption and having unholy alliances with government officials.
Court records indicate that between December 11 and December 22, 2024, Ssemakadde launched scathing and offensive posts on X under the hastag #SsekaanaMustGo where he claimed the judge was compromised and working against the independence of the legal profession.
In his landmark ruling, Justice Ssekaana vividly said that while criticism of judicial decisions is allowed, personal attacks against judges amount to contempt of court. He emphasized that the judiciary has a role to protect itself against scandalous attacks which discredit its independence.
This ruling comes at the height of disagreements between the Uganda Law Society led by Ssemakadde and the judiciary. Last week, Ssemakadde dragged his feet, banged the tables and refused to apologize for attacks on the judiciary.
This ruling also comes exactly 3 years since the same judge Ssekaana sentenced then Ssemakadde's friend Hassan Male Mabirizi to 9 months in prison for contempt of court.
"The respondent has continued to make relentless attacks on the judge and the entire judiciary with the sole purpose of undermining Its authority. Such conduct erodes public confidence in the judicial system and must be punished,' reads part of the ruling delivered by Ssekaana.
In a separate ruling, Justice Ssekaana also overturned a decision by ULS and its election committee chairman, Moses Mwase, which had excluded Pheona Nabasa Gladys Wall from the list of nominated candidates for the Judicial Service Commission.
"The respondents were functus officio after nominating the applicant and had no legal basis to omit her from the final nomination list," he ruled, ordering ULS to cover the costs of the application.
IGIHE
