Anthony Asiimwe the vice president of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) pleaded with Justice Bernard Namanya of the Civil Division of the High Court to give him and other lawyers more time to look for another lawyer to represent them after discharging their lawyer Byamukama.
The prayers resulted from Byamukama’s successful application where he was discharged from representing Uganda Law Society in a suit filed by lawyers Tonny Tumukunde and Martha Nabijewa challenging the decisions made by lawyers during their September 2025 General Meeting insisting that they were made illegally.
In their case, Tumukunde and Nabijewa cited earlier rulings made by then High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana who was promoted to Court of Appeal which also doubles as the Constitutional Court that affirmed the illegality of decisions made by a defective Uganda Law Society Council and emphasized that the current Council had no legal capacity to convene an Annual General Meeting to elect new leadership or make critical decisions.
In their September meeting, which members of the Uganda Law Society convened at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala confirmed the dismissal of Council members Phillip Munaabi who was the Secretary of the Society and Geoffrey Turyamusiima who was representing the Central Region on the governing council.
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The meeting also confirmed the decision of exiled Uganda Law Society president Senior Counsel Isaac Ssemakadde Kimeze expelling through Executive Order No. 1 of 2024 Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka and John Bosco Suuza who was representing the Solicitor General from the Society’s governing Council which Tumukunde and another are protesting noting that it violates Section 9 of the Uganda Law Society Act (Cap. 305) which states that the Attorney General and the Solicitor General are ex-officio members of that Council.
In his earlier ruling, Justice Namanya upheld the decision of the September meeting green lighting the society’s move to elect their representatives to the Judicial Service Commission which was supposed to take place on 18 October 2025, at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe until the determination of Tumukunde’s case.
Uganda Law Society appealed against the decisions of Justice Namanya but when both parties appeared on Monday 20th 2025 to pray for staying of the Courts decision until the Court of Appeal pronounces itself on the matter, counsel Byamukama applied to be discharged from representing the Society in the matter before Justice Namanya.
Justice Namanya accepted his prayer after Byamukama explained to him how it is affecting him as a person. Uganda Law Society was given one month to look for other lawyers to represent them.
Highly placed sources close to Byamukama and Judge Namanya revealed that before appearing on Monday, Byamukama wrote a recusal letter to the judge on grounds that he has a blood and professional relationship with him.
Earlier, counsel Byamukama dismissed allegation made by serial litigant Male Mabirizi that on several occasions, before being appointed a judge of the High Court, he used to find judge Namanya in counsel Byamukama’s chambers. Mabirizi also insisted that he was practising in the same law firm which violates the laws and integrity of a judge and a lawyer.
Citing conflict of interest and family background, Byamukama decided to withdraw from the matter after realising that the judge was ready to proceed with the hearing of the case.
As Asiimwe and Ssemakadde fight for the survival of their leadership, this website has exclusively learnt that there is a move initiated by Tumukunde to secure a Court order freezing bank accounts of the society to avoid being mismanaged by a leadership which is operating illegally.
