SSEMAKADDE: Being radical is not being extreme

New ULS Presdent Ssemakadde takes oath, says ULS cannot be part of the government, nor can it be a tool or a branch of the government.

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The new President of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde, has been sworn in, saying ” Being radical is not being extreme. The two are not the same”.

Ssemakadde has set out a plan to transform ULS and bring justice not only to members of the legal profession but also to ordinary Ugandans.

Speaking shortly after taking the oath of office alongside the new ULS Council members in Kampala on Friday, Ssemakadde underscored the importance of understanding  Uganda’s Constitution, which he described as the country’s “user manual” for governance and state maintenance.

“The Constitution is the country’s guiding manual and the state doesn’t own it. It instead owns the State,” he said.

Others who have taken the Oath today are Vice President Anthony Asiimwe,  Treasurer Arthur Isiko, Secretary Phillip Munaabi, Council Member representing the Central Region Geoffrey Turyamusiima, Council Member representing the Northern Emmanuel Egaru Omiat, Western Samuel Muhumuza, Eastern Eddie Nangulu.

The other Council members are John Bosco Souza and Stella Nyandria who respectively represent the Attorney General and the Solicitor General.

In his speech, Ssemakadde emphasized that the government is distinct from the state, saying that a government serves within the framework of the state as outlined in the constitution.

He said that no government can be greater or more powerful than the state it governs.

Ssemakadde further explained that the Uganda Law Society, as defined in the constitution, is a civic organization uniting lawyers under one independent body, with guaranteed autonomy.

“ULS cannot be part of the government, nor can it be a tool or a branch of the government. “#It must represent the independent legal profession. ULS operates with constitutional functions, not government ones,” said Ssemakadde.

He noted that the current government has failed to grasp these fundamental distinctions, which lie at the heart of many of the nation’s ongoing crises.

Ssemakadde also outlined his plans to tackle pressing issues affecting Ugandans, including land grabbing, racial discrimination, electoral fraud, corporate theft, unjust taxation, inadequate healthcare, and unemployment.

Commonly known as the Legal Rebel, Ssemakadde also pledged to mobilize lawyers to reclaim their profession from what he described as “judicial tyranny, dictatorship, constitutional illiteracy, Judicial sophistry, intimidation and interference.

He stated that the ULS must remain independent as a civic organization, free from government interference, criticizing the government for attempting to undermine the legal profession and rejecting proposals for uniting the profession.

REBELS: A Radical New Bar Governing Council! #BackOnTrack #BangTheTable pic.twitter.com/hImHXcU9JA

— Isaac Ssemakadde (@IsaacSsemakadde) October 4, 2024

Ssemakadde clarified that being radical means addressing problems at their root,  but not being extreme. He believes his election signals a new era for the ULS, where lawyers will unite to demand justice and uphold the Constitution.

The ULS Secretary General for ULS Phillip Munaabi says that the new team plans to address the delay in delivering judgements, failure to execute court orders, and violations of the rule of law.

Munaabi also said that the Council will also focus on membership needs such as problems for young lawyers such as claims of sexual exploitation, health, unemployment and planning for wealth as well as personal sustainability and development problems.

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URN