No court orders yet to arrest Ssemakadde – Police

Kampala, (UG):- The police have clarified that no court orders have been received yet to arrest and imprison the Uganda Law Society (ULS) President, Mr Isaac Ssemakadde who was last week sentenced to a two-year jail term for contempt of court.

Speaking to the media on Monday at police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala, Uganda police spokesperson ACP Rusoke Kituuma said that the Force is fully prepared to act on any official court orders once they are delivered.

“As of now, we have not yet received any warrant of arrest from the court. If served to us, we shall look at it, clear it, and implement it,” Kituuma stated, adding that the law obligates the police to comply with court orders while respecting the rule of law and human rights.

Ssemakadde, who has been battling controversial court cases since his election as Uganda Law Society President was Friday sentenced to prison by Justice Musa Ssekaana who ordered his arrest and two-year imprisonment.

The Case

The contempt charges stemmed from Mr Ssemakadde’s contentious social media posts and commentaries that criticized Justice Ssekaana’s decision to halt the Extraordinary Annual General Meeting, where lawyers were slated to elect new members to the Judicial Service Commission.

The case was filed before the High Court Civil Divisio by city lawyer Hashim Mugisha, with Ssekaana, the presiding judge also listed among the complainants in the application.

In his ruling, Ssekaana emphasized the need to safeguard judicial independence against personal attacks and the spread of disinformation on social media, arguing that such threats and inappropriate statements, such as those made by Mr Ssemakadde, jeopardize the rule of law and must be addressed.

“Threatening statements like what the respondent (Ssemakadde) tweeted are extremely inappropriate and they are dangerous to the rule of law and ought to be punished. The statements of the respondent have emboldened other members of the public who are now extending threats of sharing judicial officers’ telephone contacts and or residential addresses which poses a security risk,” Justice Ssekaana held in the Friday ruling.

Law Society responds

Following the widespread circulation of the judgment on Friday, Mr Anthony Asiimwe, the vice president of the Uganda Law Society, issued a statement that evening condemning the ruling and emphasized that their President, Ssemakadde will never be detained.

Asiimwe described the judgment as “one-sided” and “manifestly void,” arguing that it was part of a broader attempt to silence advocates for judicial accountability. “We anticipated these extreme measures designed to suppress the Radical New Bar and our courageous president, Isaac Ssemakadde. This latest ruling is nothing more than an attempt to undermine our efforts to demand transparency and accountability in the judiciary,” he remarked.

When asked how arrest orders are enforced, Judiciary Spokesperson Mr James Ereemye Mawanda told this publication that the police will only act after a court order has been formally issued and served.

But Section 23 (1) of the Police Act and Section 10 of the Criminal Procedure Code Act grant police officers the authority to arrest without a warrant if there is reasonable suspicion that the individual has committed or is about to commit an arrestable offence, has breached the peace, or is obstructing the police.

The Radical New Bar President, who is currently in neighbouring on ‘alleged official duties’ and not ‘evading arrest’ joins Male Mabirizi as the second lawyer to be imprisoned by Justice Ssekaana, with Mabirizi having served 18 months in 2022.