Two weeks back, no nonsense Uganda Law Society president Isaac Kimeze Ssemakadde told Buganda Kingdom’s Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio that he is going to be out of the country on the official duties for seven weeks noting that in his absence, his vice president Anthony Asiimwe will be in charge of the lawyers umbrella body in the country.
By then, Ssemakadde was in Kigali on official duties and he held a number of meetings with top legal brains in Rwanda. He later proceeded to Tanzania to meet other dignitaries including the East African Law Society president.
However, highly placed sources close to counsel Ssemakadde have revealed that the man from Bukomansimbi is heading to Germany and the process of preparing his asylum papers is done.
The development comes after controversial Court of Appeal Justice Musa Ssekaana sentenced Ssemakadde to two years imprisonment on the offence of contempt of court and sources in the judiciary have revealed to this website that Ssemakadde’s friends are pleading with the judiciary leadership to lift Justice Ssekaana’s decision insisting that the ruling was made when the accused person was out of the country and he was not given the opportunity to defend himself.
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Sources added that the judiciary leadership is so far turning a deaf ear to Ssemakadde’s friends’ pleadings adding that Ssekaana sentenced the accused person in absentia because he was executing an assignment agreed upon by all judges and justices during the judges conference.
Chief Justice Owiny Dollo was first condemned for sidelining with Ssemakadde a person whom they accuse of disrespecting them.
Sources said that chances are minimal that judiciary leadership will consider Ssemakadde’s decision and the accussed is also not ready to return to Uganda to serve his prison sentence.
If all pleading fail, Ssemakadde has plans to join his client Dr Stella Nyanzi the former Makerere university lecture and his friend Kakwenza Rukirabashaija in self-imposed exile.
It is alleged that his comrade Male Mabirizi, who accepted to serve his 18 months sentence and refused the advice of running into exile after the same judge Ssekaana sentenced him to prison on the same offence of contempt of court advised him to first hide until the dust settles.
“ I don’t think my man Ssemakadde can manage prison life like I did. I’m praying for him and all Ugandans should know that today it is Ssemakadde, yesterday it was me, maybe tomorrow it will be someone reading this story who will be imprisoned because of fighting for equity, justice and free speech,” Mabirizi said.
Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi also issued an arrest warrant against Ssemakadde after he refused to appear in court to answer criminal charges instituted against him by fellow lawyers Tonny Tumukunde and Josua Byamazima as private prosecutors.
