Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has issued criminal summons against city lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde to answer charges of offensive communication following allegations that he insulted Justice Musa Ssekaana.
According to the criminal summons issued on 28th February 2022, Ssemakadde has been ordered to appear before court on February 4, 2022 at 2:00PM to answer charges of offensive communication against judicial officers.
It is not immediately clear how Ssemakadde, the executive director of Legal Brains for Trust, a not-for-profit organization offended Ssekaana. But on February 1, 2022, Ssemakkade’s conduct was condemned by the Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) through their president justice Tadeo Asiimwe who accused him of attacking judicial officers together with Male Mabirizi.
Mabirizi has since been remanded at Kitalya government Prison on related charges involving judicial officers.
In a criminal misleaneous application number 21 of 2022, filed by private prosecutor Rutaro Robert Muhairwe, Ssemakadde is accused on three counts including; Offensive communication according to section 25 of Computer Misuse Act 2011, Criminal Libel section 179 and 180 of the Penal Code Act Cap 120, and Offenses prejudicial to judicial proceedings section 107(1)(d) & (i) of the Penal Code Act.
Together with his lawyers on Monday, Ssemakadde appeared before Cyber Crimes Investigations Unit at CID Headquaters in Kampala where he recorded a statement on the alleged cases including cyberstalking to the prejudice of Justice Musa Ssekaana. Ssemakadde had been summoned by assistant commissioner of police Julius Twinomujuni on behalf of the director CID to report at the CID headquarters in Kibuli.
Ssemakadde who happens to be one of Mabirizi’s lawyers was released on police bond till March 22, 2022. The two have consistently accused the judiciary in Uganda (both on public and private media platforms) for “unprofessional conduct” and acting contrary to the expectations of the masses.
Ssemakadde has also been, severally, quoted to be critical of the person of Justice Musa Ssekaana whom he vows to expose.
“Justice Ssekaana will soon get his comeuppance. Others will then learn from him to maintain judicial decorum and respect the sovereignty of that citizen in a constitutional democracy. Watch this space,” said Ssemakadde.
He added that “the judge, and his accomplices who want to bury a big judicial scandal that Male Mabirizi and I are about to expose, know that they cannot win in a civil case taken out against me, so they are hiding behind criminal summons which are unconstitutional and illegal. But I am not scared and I won’t be deterred.” he said on February 22, after police summons were issued.
A few weeks ago, while at the opening of the New Law Year 2022, chief justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo indicated that an Annual judges conference had among the issues resolved not to take lightly cases of advocates and litigants who attack judicial officers in the course of executing their duties.
The chief justice wondered why a judge would make a decision and some people start criticizing his genitals, saying when you undress judges and they remain naked, they are most likely to run into hiding and when the devil goes on rampage, one might need somewhere to find salvage.
According to Owiny-Dollo, the judiciary is like a forest where one can hide and therefore it should never be attacked. On the same day, the head of the bar (attorney general) Kiryowa Kiwanuka in his maiden speech also warned lawyers to desist from behaviors of attacking judicial officers and called upon the Law Council to whip such errant members of the bar.