Isaac Semakadde; Legal rebel Anti-clockwise thinker

Isaac Semakadde’s Liteside

Any three things that we don’t know about you?

For lack of an easier word, the character ‘Spartan’ defines me. As I try to understand myself better, I am a legal rebel, an anti-clockwise thinker and a clock builder not a time teller. I live in such a unique world.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I am an incredible optimist; I see only the good things in people which makes me a fool in the end sometimes. I had always believed that everybody can be changed or persuaded until recently when I discovered that not everybody is open to persuasion.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I am against materialistic people and those that despise ideas.

Which living person do you most admire?

In the legal profession, there is a shy lawyer called Philip Karugaba. He is such a dynamo and he contains so much power in his diminutive body and brain which he exercises with so much grace. He is a child of privilege but he has the heart of a child of poverty. He deprives himself daily of what I see so many people entitled to. It is also surprising that he has the hunger and the fire for social change in his teaching and career. He is a good role model.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Social justice; I spend a lot fighting people’s causes to create social change even outside law to include culture and others.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Our intelligence and our gifts of nature. At one time, we spent a lot of money advertising about our good attractions in our ‘Gifted by Nature’ campaign and yet we ourselves are enemies of nature.

What does being powerful mean to you?

Power without authority is tyranny; so often times we abuse power. Being powerful should come with legal, social, and moral authority and it must be exercised within realms.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

Not anything.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Honesty and generosity

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Honesty and generosity

When and where were you happiest?

My happiest moments are in childhood. I survived an attack of cerebral malaria that almost killed me in 1991 so returning to normal life and play normally as a child was a new birth. Brian Gilbert Baingana is one friend that I have been with for a very long time, and four years ago I attended his wedding as guest of honour. It was a happy moment because it reunited me with the people that matter most in my life and it cemented our relationship. I am also happy to have reached this far.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I was always the reluctant advocate because I never saw myself there. And from that, I want to be a promoter of talents.

Where would you most like to live?

I have a favourite escape destination and that is Pretoria. I find it to be seductive and being a small town boy, I relate easily with small towns that are also cosmopolitan. But Uganda will always be home.

What is your most treasured possession?

My sympathy for social justice causes.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

No one should be subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment unless the extraordinary conditions are part and parcel of the struggle.

What is your favorite occupation?

Being an advocate for social justice.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Cuthbert Obwangor was an elder in Teso who at a moment when integrity was required from law makers during the times of Obote I, exhibited it without compromise or fear. I was introduced to his heroism as a student of law, he exemplifies and embodies both the theory and practical refinement of what is good and truly aspirational about democracy, integrity in leadership, and constitutionalism

What is your greatest regret?

I should have fought for love at the university but I concentrated on fighting causes.

How would you like to die?

As the tip of the spear in a war.

What is your motto?

Always ahead.