Kenyan lawyers are panicking after learning that some judges in their country are critically studying Justice Musa Ssekaana’s controversial rulings which they think could be used as a weapon to tame their defiance when criticizing the way judicial officers execute their judicial powers.
Nelson Havi, the 49th President of Law Society of Kenya, who recently criticized their nations’ Chief Justice Martha Koome blaming her for shielding corruption and incompetence in the Kenyan judiciary revealed that Justice Ssekaana’s rulings are circulating among judges WhatsApp groups as a wild fire and they are seriously looking into how to use them.
He claims that judges are concentrating on the two rulings where justice Ssekaana ordered for imprisonment of Uganda Law Society president Isaac Ssemakadde for two years and where he imprisoned controversial lawyer Kassim Male Mabirizi for 18 months on contempt of court charges.
He argues that some Kenyan Judges’ are discussing how they can apply the Ssekaana methods to contain lawyers like him who have made it their business to call out incompetent and corrupt Judges.
“There will be casualties, as we will not take any prisoners in the war on accountability and integrity in the Judiciary,” Havi stated on his X account.
He further condemned and wondered how comes that in his ruling sentencing Ssemakadde of contempt and scandalizing him, Justice Ssekaana, who President Museveni recently promoted to the Court of Appeal which also doubles as Constitutional Court did not cite any legislation in Uganda empowering his action.
He added that the English decisions cited by justice Ssekaana predate the abolition of scandalization in 2013 insisting that his ruling is null and void.
Kenyan Chief Justice is currently on the spot and trying to reverse the decision she made together with other Justices of the Supreme Court to ban senior lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi and his entire law firm from practicing law before the Supreme Court. She advised their clients to look for new lawyers.
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Chief Justice Koome’s decision was challenged in the East African Court of Justice as illegal.
In Uganda, highly placed sources in the Ugandan judiciary have revealed to Top Secrets that since Justice Ssekaana made that decision against Ssemakadde, he has been receiving congratulatory messages from a section of judicial officers who are thanking him for finding the right medicine to cure defiant lawyers who have been placing them in bad light.
Earlier, judicial officers according to sources were very bitter with Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi for delaying the imprisonment of Ssemakadde when he refused to issue an arrest warrant against him basing on the private criminal prosecution filed against him by two lawyers.
Ssemakadde is being accussed of insulting Justice Jane Frances Abodo the Director of Public Prosecution.
Sources added that during the recent judges’ conference in Kampala, Chief Justice Owiny Dollo assured the judges that he will protect them from defiant lawyers.
He added that he the one who banned Ssemakadde from speaking at any judiciary functions until he apologises to Justice Ssekaana.
However, a defiant Ssemakadde assured the entire world that he has instructed his lawyers led by criminal law giant Derrick Bazzeketta to appeal Justice Ssekaana’s ruling and secure a stay of execution of the ruling.
Police has also revealed that they have not yet picked interest in Ssemakadde’s issue given that they have not yet received any order of arresting the man from Bukomansimbi so that he can start serving his two years prison sentence given to him by Justice Ssekaana.
