The Constitutional and Justice minister Norbert Mao has confirmed that Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo has set tough conditions in the ongoing efforts to mediate Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, controversial Court of Appeal’s Justice Musa Ssekaana and maverick Uganda Law Society President Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde.
Mao said that since he wants to settle the ongoing verbal fight amicably, he reached out to all waring parties and also those he thinks can lead the mediation.
He revealed that he was very sure that the judiciary and law society fight was going to be solved during the recent opening of the new law year ceremony which took place at the judiciary’s headquarters but he was shocked when Justice Dollo personally refused Ssemakadde from making a speech on that day.
“When I saw the CJ being called to make his speech, I was shocked and wondered how comes that the Chief Justice is making a speech before the Law Society president. I consulted and I was told that the Chief Justice stopped Ssemakadde from speaking at that ceremony. I decided to write a note and personally take it to the Chief Justice because sending it through another person while he was speaking would have created suspicion among the guests,” Mao said.
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He explained that in the note, he warned him that he was creating a bad incident by stopping the president of all lawyers from talking at a judiciary function.
He proposed to him that there were university law students who had brought him an appreciation gift to thank him for the landmark Supreme Court judgement banning civilians from being prosecuted in the military courts, he pleaded with him to ask Ssemakadde to come to the microphone, say a few words and invite those law students to present their appreciation gift to him.
Mso explained that when he went back to his seat, he asked for Ssemakadde’s written speech so that he goes through it to remove any bad unusual radical bar statements. However, he was shocked when Justice Dollo publicly stated that Ssemakadde will never make any statement at judiciary ceremonies and functions until he apologises to judicial officials especially Justice Ssekaana who he humiliated and abused.
Mao said that after the ceremony, he realised that there was a big problem which needed to be solved immediately. He reached out to the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka since he was also cited in the fight and asked him whether he is willing to settle the matter with Ssemakadde amicably through negotiations which he accepted and welcomed with open hands noting that he was also tired of the verbal attacks against him yet he not a person who exchanges words in public.
After, Kiwanuka’s openness, Mao reached out to Justice Dollo who insisted that before anything is done, Ssmakadde must first publicly apologise to Justice Ssekaana and other Judicial officers who he angered.
“After a meeting with Uganda Law Society bosses, we agreed that retired deputy Chief Justice Richard Butera should lead the mediations. I approached him and accepted to lead the mediation because we cannot manage a situation where the elected president of the Uganda Law Society is leading lawyers while in exile,” Mao said.
This investigative website has further established that Buganda Kingdom youths under their umbrella of the Buganda Nkobazambogo are set to meet Owekitiibwa Charles Peter Mayiga the Buganda Kingdom premier to intervene and lead the mediations between Ssemakadde and Kiwanuka since both parties are loyal to him and their King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi.
Ssemakadde is a renown Nkobazambogo member and when he won the Uganda Law Society presidential seat, he went to Bulange the headquarters of Buganda Kingdom to present his win to the Katikkiro. Kiwanuka on the other hand is not only a friend to Mayiga but also a personal lawyer to King Mutebi.
A senior judicial officer who is privy to the details of this fight told this website during the course of investigating this story that if Ssemakadde settles his grievances with Kiwanuka, his troubles including the prison sentence issued against him by Justice Ssekaana will be reversed.
He added that Kiwanuka is bitter with Ssemakadde because he took their official misunderstanding personal and started making malicious statements which damaged his reputation as a lawyer especially when he accused him of being corrupt.
Ssemakadde on the other hand was bitter with Kiwanuka for blocking his Shs700m court award against the government.
