Kampala, Uganda: Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde, S.C, has publicly severed ties with lawyer Elison Karuhanga, declaring that the two no longer share a common vision for the legal profession after accusing the latter of remaining silent over the reported arrest of veteran lawyer Erias Lukwago and advocating for neutrality at a time the Radical New Bar believes the rule of law is under threat.
In a strongly worded open letter to the Radical New Bar on Sunday, Ssemakadde admitted that he had erred in previously backing Karuhanga as the Radical New Bar’s preferred candidate for the 7th Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
“The man who called himself ‘The Lawyer’s Lawyer’ while seeking to represent us on the 7th Judicial Service Commission no longer speaks for this Bar,” Ssemakadde wrote. He added, “I disassociate completely. I was wrong to associate with Elison Karuhanga.”
The latest fallout marks the culmination of months of growing ideological differences between two of Uganda’s most prominent lawyers, whose relationship had once been viewed as one of mutual professional respect despite their differing public profiles.
When Ssemakadde assumed the presidency of the Uganda Law Society under the Radical New Bar (RNB) platform, he initially sought to build consensus across Uganda’s legal fraternity, including with lawyers perceived to have closer ties to the establishment.
During that period, Karuhanga emerged as one of the lawyers Ssemakadde believed could bridge the divide between reformists within the Bar and more conservative members of the profession. Those with sharp memories can quickly refer back to Karuhanga’s aspiration for the Judicial Service Commission seat, which received huge backing from Ssemakadde and the entire ULS secretariat.
However, that relationship began to unravel after the Radical New Bar issued Executive Order RNB No. 6 of 2025, which abandoned the Law Society’s long-standing tradition of political neutrality and openly declared that the Society would no longer remain neutral in what it described as an era of militarised politics and constitutional decline.
Karuhanga subsequently publicly disagreed with the directive, arguing in an opinion article published in the Observer Newspaper that the Bar, as a statutory professional body representing lawyers of different political beliefs, should retain its institutional neutrality. His position ignited a national debate within legal circles over whether the Bar should become an activist institution or remain professionally non-partisan.
But Ssemakadde now says that the disagreement exposed what he considers an irreconcilable difference in philosophy. “The Uganda Law Society, under the Radical New Bar Governing Council, is no longer neutral. There is no neutrality in a militarized state,” he wrote.
According to the exiled RNB leader, he and Karuhanga last spoke on December 26, 2025, during a 49-minute telephone conversation in which Karuhanga allegedly informed him that he was facing pressure from undisclosed individuals to publicly distance himself from the Radical New Bar following the issuance of Executive Order No. 6.
Ssemakadde said he unsuccessfully tried to persuade Karuhanga not to abandon the movement.
The ULS President said his decision to publicly renounce the relationship was prompted by what he described as Karuhanga’s silence following the reported arrest of Senior Counsel Erias Lukwago on June 15, 2026, an incident Ssemakadde characterised as an unlawful abduction carried out by security personnel.
“The Lawyer’s Lawyer apparently saw nothing, heard nothing, and said nothing. His unforgivable silence screams loud,” he wrote, arguing that lawyers who remain silent when fellow advocates face alleged violations of their rights undermine the legal profession’s constitutional role.
Ssemakadde also criticised what he described as attempts by sections of Uganda’s legal fraternity to maintain proximity to political power while presenting themselves as defenders of constitutionalism.
“Associating with elites and careerists deeply embedded as strategists for CDF Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and allied military networks hellbent on subverting the Constitution was not bridge-building. It was an invitation to co-option,” he wrote.
The ULS President said his earlier attempts to engage lawyers with differing political views were driven by optimism but had ultimately failed. “Bridges imply reciprocity and shared foundations. What we face today is not a river to cross but a fortress that extracts loyalty while offering sinecures,” he stated.
The latest exchange exposes the widening ideological divide within Uganda’s legal fraternity over the role of the Uganda Law Society, the meaning of professional neutrality, and how lawyers should respond to governance and human rights concerns.
By press time on Monday morning, Elison Karuhanga had not publicly responded to Ssemakadde’s latest open letter.
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