News
Embattled President of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), Mr Isaac Ssemakadde, is not about to lift his foot from the gas pedal of his seemingly recklessly speeding vehicle.
The latest to face is fury is copyright law guru Edgar Tabaro, whom Mr Ssemakadde said was as a matter of fact, “an idiot”.
Mr Ssemakadde, who has stoked the fury of a section of the public with his unconventional leadership and no-holds- barred approach to issues, did not explicitly say it all.
But he did borrow and endorse a past comment by exiled dissent writer and novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, calling it a “fact”.
“He’s an empty headed quinquagenarian who has nothing important to add to any progressive legal thinking and democratisation,” Mr Ssemakadde posted on X on Tuesday, quoting Mr Kakwenza.
Mr Tabaro, a managing partner at KTA Advocates, appears to have stepped on Mr Ssemakadde’s loose court tails – or at least that is what the abrasive “bang the table” ULS leader might have felt – when he endorsed a comment by fellow lawyer Silver Kayondo regarding the status of guests of ULS to the country.
On Monday, Mr Kayondo tweeted that East Africa Law Society delegates had started jetting into the country but that there was no one to receive them at the airport.
“If you invited a dignitary, it’s on you to ensure they are received and taken to their hotel. ULS has other “important” priorities for now,” Mr Kayondo said.
The East Africa Law Society Annual Conference and General Meeting is slated to open tomorrow in Kampala and runs until November 30.
ULS are the hosts of the 29th conference at which more than 800 lawyers from East Africa are expected to converge for networking, professional development, and discussing industry trends.
Mr Tabaro responded to Mr Kayondo’s bewilderment with a cheeky comment, “Did you expect a law society in doldrums that its leadership has brought upon us to do good?”
But he was Tuesday morning left aghast when Mr Ssemakade hit back with an ice-cold quote from Mr Kakwenza.
“To what honour do I owe attention from you?” Mr Tabaro, a seasoned lawyer from a family of distinguished attorneys including his father Patrick who was a top judge and brother Edwin as a partner at KTA, said.
“That said, kindly take complete leave to recuperate. Self awareness is key when one off their rails. Given your self acclaimed big brain, it shouldn’t be hard to see that I am being polite and charitable to you. Wishing you full recovery!”
Mr Tabaro, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Makerere University, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from LDC, and an LLM from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, has had a distinguished academic career, including roles as a law school dean and senior lecturer at Uganda Christian University.
In other times or for another person, it would be wayward but Mr Ssemakadde has turned the same into a trademark and struck match sticks on the thatched homes of ULS along the way.
He is currently under pressure to apologise to the Director of Public Prosecution, Jane Frances Abodo, whom he used racy-lacy language to describe.
He was also a subject, at the weekend, of an “attempted coup” from within the ULS Council.
