Mao offers to mediate rift between Ssemakadde, Judiciary, and AG Kiwanuka

Kampala, (UG):- The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Norbert Mao, has pledged to mediate the ongoing tensions between Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde, the judiciary, and the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka.

Speaking at the Radical New Bar’s weekly press conference at ULS House on Friday, March 21, Hon. Mao expressed his dissatisfaction with Ssemakadde’s absence, stating that he is leading ULS “from exile” without an official mandate.

“I don’t know his current status because the media has not been very clear. Some say he is on official duties, others say he is in exile,” he said, before committing to track him down and deliver this message, even if it meant travelling abroad to find him.

“Once you see me going on a plane these days, I will be going to meet the ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde, who is leading us from abroad without being an Ambassador, to deliver a message from the Attorney General and the Chief Justice regarding reconciliation,” he added.

The DP President General who has a background in mediation, emphasized that intervention in conflicts must be timed appropriately. He compared the current dispute to a boil, stating that premature interference could aggravate the situation.

However, Mao now believes the conflict has reached a stage where mediation is necessary. He also reaffirmed that the ULS, as the country’s premier professional legal institution, should not be reduced to personal disputes and blame games.

“We all studied alternative dispute resolution, now it is time to practice what we preach. We must talk to each other,” Mao said.

Ssemakadde woes

Isaac Ssemakadde aka the Legal Rebel was on February 14, 2025, sentenced by Judge Musa Ssekaana to two years in jail for contempt of court, although ever since the court decision, he remains at large over what is described by ULS as “away for official duties”.

Earlier this week, an international warrant was issued for his arrest, empowering law enforcement agencies within and beyond Uganda to detain him. The warrant follows his repeated failure to appear before the Buganda Road Court despite multiple summons.

Amidst all the rift between the trio, Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo insists on an apology from Ssemakadde, asserting that the judiciary feels wronged by his remarks.