Lawyers dismiss Ssemakadde move to expel Attorney General from ULS council

Senior lawyers have dismissed a move by the newly elected president of the Uganda Law Society to expel Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka from the Society's Council.

The senior lawyers said Mr Isaac Ssemakadde's executive order has no legal backing.

On Monday, Mr Ssemakadde issued an Executive Order (RNB N0. 1 OF 2024) expelling the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka alongside Solicitor General Mr Francis Atoke and their representatives from the ULS Council.

Mr Ssemakadde reasoned that he was safeguarding the independence of the legal profession since the duo belongs to the executive arm of the government.

Mr Simon Peter Kinobe, the former ULS president, said Mr Ssemakadde does not have the mandate to operate outside the precincts of law. 

He explained that the representation of the Attorney General and Solicitor General on the Council of ULS is provided for by an Act of Parliament and that he cannot wake up one day to single-handedly expel them.

“ULS does not have legislative powers, and so as far as we are concerned, that particular act is just for comical relief. The purported executive order is void ab initio and cannot be executed and therefore, the two representatives shall continue to sit on Council until the law is amended or an order of court is made to that effect,” Mr Kinobe said.

Likewise, another past president of the Law Society, Mr John Mary Mugisha, said a ULS president does not have the mandate to expel the Attorney General because his position is instituted by law and he or she can only expel them if they amended the law to reflect the same.

“I know this was a subject matter in the Ssempebwa report of 2012, which recommended the removal of the Attorney General from the ULS Council. I would suggest that such a decision would needs the endorsement of the general meeting,” Mr Mugisha said.

He added that the decision of the ULS president deprives the Attorney General and the Solicitor General of their right to defend themselves against any accusations against them.

"The ULS president cannot proceed like in a kangaroo court where he is the complainant, witness and the judge," he said.

Constitutional lawyer Peter Walubiri restrained from the merits of the matter, citing the prejudice rule but mentioned that there is a constitutional conundrum in the setup of the ULS Council which should be resolved by litigation.

Mr Ivan Bwowe, a constitutional lawyer, said the expulsion of the Attorney General is not supported by law. He added that the ULS legal framework does not have the nomenclature of executive orders.

“The composition of Council is by law and if they constitute them as members, you cannot say that they are not. However, I also believe that Mr Ssemakadde knows what the law says and I believe he wanted to focus us on the issues pertinent to the conduct of the Attorney General,” Mr Bwowe said. 

When contacted, Mr Atoke preferred not to make a comment on the matter while Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the Attorney General did not pick our calls by press time. 

Earlier in the course of the day, a concerned lawyer, Robert Rutaro Muhairwe sued the Uganda Law Society and Mr Ssemakadde over the matter.

Mr Rutaro branded Mr Ssemakadde's executive as unlawful, null and void, tainted with illegality, irrationality, unreasonableness and procedural impropriety.

“The respondents have no power to expel the Attorney General of Uganda, Solicitor General, or their representatives, thereby rendering this executive order arbitrary and ultra-vires,” Mr Rutaro, said.

He added: “The Attorney General and Solicitor General are permanent members of the ULS Council by virtue of the law to wit the ULS Act, and can only be removed through amendment of the said law.”

He now wants the court to issue a permanent injunction quashing the executive order in question and any attempting to expel the Attorney General, Solicitor General and their representatives from the ULS Council. 

During the recently concluded ULS election won by Mr Ssemakadde, he premised his campaign on themes like decolonising the Bar where he advocated for the expulsion of the Attorney General from the ULS Council.

Mr Ssemakadde argued that there was a need to decolonise the legal profession from colonial laws which he said were outdated and did not match the demands of the current framework of the legal profession and also undermined the independence of the legal profession.

Known as the legal rebel, he campaigned under the slogan of ‘‘Bang the table.’’