Kampala, Uganda: Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lino Anguzu, to immediately halt criminal proceedings against a young law graduate, arguing that he is being punished for institutional failures beyond his control rather than any criminal conduct.
In an open letter dropped on Thursday, August 6, 2026, Ssemakadde asked Mr Anguzu to enter a nolle prosequi in Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Criminal Case No. 896 of 2026, in which Andrew Ssekibaamu Jenkins Nsubuga, 28, is charged with practising as an advocate while unqualified and falsely holding himself out as an advocate under the Advocates Act.
Nsubuga, a graduate of Nkumba University School of Law and holder of a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre (LDC), was this week remanded to Luzira Prison after being denied immediate release on the charges. The prosecution alleges that he acted as an advocate before completing the formal enrolment process required under the Advocates Act.
Under Uganda’s Advocates Act, a law graduate must first obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from the Law Council before his or her name is entered on the Roll of Advocates, after which they may lawfully practise as an advocate. The law also requires the Law Council to communicate its decision on an application within 14 days, with unsuccessful applicants entitled to seek review before the High Court.
However, Ssemakadde argues that what should ordinarily be a straightforward administrative process has evolved into a nationwide enrolment crisis affecting thousands of young lawyers.
“Mr. Nsubuga is not a criminal. He is a young lawyer and human rights defender caught in a systemic enrolment crisis at the Law Development Centre and the Law Council,” Ssemakadde wrote.
According to the ULS President, Nsubuga had already satisfied the academic and professional requirements to qualify as an advocate and had even been approved by the Law Council for issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility.
Ssemakadde notes that the young lawyer appears as No. 92 on the latest Law Council memorandum approving applicants for certificates of eligibility, arguing that his inability to complete enrolment stems solely from bureaucratic delays rather than any deficiency on his part.
He faulted the decision to prosecute Nsubuga, saying criminal sanctions should not be used to punish individuals trapped in an administrative backlog.
“The continued criminalisation of young lawyers already victimised by the LDC monopoly and Law Council indifference is unnecessary, unjust and counterproductive,” the letter states.
Ssemakadde further argued that prosecuting aspiring advocates for institutional delays undermines confidence in Uganda’s legal profession and sends the wrong message to young professionals entering practice.
“He deserves encouragement and mentorship, not incarceration,” he said, adding that remanding such individuals “serves neither justice nor the public interest.”
‘Will you prosecute them all?’
The ULS President used the case to highlight what he described as a much wider crisis affecting legal practice in Uganda.
According to Ssemakadde, more than 5,000 law graduates from over 20 accredited universities remain unable to complete enrolment because of prolonged delays involving the Law Development Centre and the Law Council.
Although he acknowledged that the Law Council has, since September 2024, increased admissions to approximately 300 advocates per quarter, Ssemakadde said the pace remains insufficient to clear the growing backlog.
He challenged the prosecution to explain whether it intended to criminally charge every graduate affected by the same delays. “Will you prosecute them all?” Ssemakadde asked, warning that the precedent could expose thousands of aspiring advocates to criminal liability despite having fulfilled the substantive requirements for admission.
He also cited the Judiciary Client Charter, which commits to processing practising licences within seven working days, arguing that current delays stretching into several months are inconsistent with those service standards.
Ssemakadde therefore urged the DPP to exercise prosecutorial discretion under the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ public interest guidelines by discontinuing the case. “A humane and parental approach is warranted. Continuing this prosecution would not advance justice but would instead deepen the injustice already occasioned by systemic administrative failures,” he wrote.
The ULS President further argued that withdrawing the charges would align with ongoing reforms aimed at modernising Uganda’s advocate enrolment system while preserving public confidence in the administration of justice.
At the time of publication, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had not publicly responded to Ssemakadde’s appeal, and Nsubuga’s criminal case remained pending before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court.
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