Kampala, Uganda: The Uganda Law Society (ULS) is bracing for a pivotal General Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 17 September 2025, at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kololo, a gathering that could determine the fate of suspended Council members Phillip Munaabi and Geofrey Turyamusiima.
Munaabi, the former ULS General Secretary, and Turyamusiima, former council member for Central Region, were suspended in November 2024 for allegedly attempting to overthrow the ULS leadership led by President Isaac Ssemakadde.
Following their suspension, the duo, along with other members opposed to Ssemakadde’s leadership, formed a parallel ULS government that continued to operate in the shadow, in what they often described as the authentic bar, whereas not.
Following a series of continuous activities subversive to the ULS leadership, the Radical New Bar, as it is popularly branded, has now convened a meeting after nine formal member requisitions were submitted to the Council, several of them calling for the censure and removal of Munaabi and Turyamusiima, to bring sanity within Uganda’s largest professional body for lawyers.
According to a notice of general meeting seen by DailyExpress, the most direct requisitions came from Ssali Babu and other members, and separately from Lule Alexander and lawyers of the Greater Masaka Bar, who accuse Turyamusiima of misconduct warranting his removal as a decisive disciplinary action.
These motions, if approved, could reshape the leadership of the ULS Council and have the duo permanently removed from their positions at the Bar.
Other considerable topics to be deliberated during this meeting will focus on internal governance, transparency, and accountability, organizing ULS elections for Deputy Secretary General and Young Lawyers Representative to the East African Law Society Governing Council, concerns over sanitation in court precincts, and efforts to strengthen ULS governance and autonomy amid allegations of extralegal actions by sections of the membership.
According to ULS Vice President Asiimwe Anthony, the general meeting also represents a critical opportunity for members to hold their leadership accountable and decide the Society’s direction for the coming years.
“The decisions taken at this General Meeting will have long-term implications for the independence, governance, and integrity of the Uganda Law Society,” Asiimwe said in the notice dated Wednesday, August 10, 2025.
Legal analysts in the country suggest the meeting is more than procedural; it could define the ULS’ approach to discipline, leadership accountability, and internal democracy, with Munaabi and Turyamusiima’s futures as Council members hanging in the balance.
By press time on Thursday, neither Munaabi nor Turyamusiima had spoken out on their next move as leaders of the parallel ULS government.
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