The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has accused the Judiciary of deliberately sidelining the national Bar from the upcoming Opening of the New Law Year 2026, escalating a long-running standoff between the two institutions.
In a letter dated February 3, 2026, addressed to the Acting Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Pamella Lamunu Ocaya, the ULS said it had not received a formal institutional invitation to the ceremony scheduled for February 5.
Instead, the Society claims that select lawyers were invited in their personal capacities, a move it describes as an attempt to bypass the leadership of the Bar.
The letter, signed by ULS Vice President Anthony Asiimwe on behalf of what he described as the Radical New Bar Governing Council, further notes that the official programme does not provide an opportunity for ULS leadership to address the gathering—an omission the Society says breaks long-standing tradition.
“A review of the published programme reveals that no opportunity has been afforded to the ULS leadership to address the gathering, a courtesy which has long been extended to the National Bar Association,” the letter states.
ULS argues that the exclusion mirrors what it describes as “tyrannical and oppressive treatment” meted out to the Society during last year’s Opening of the New Law Year, when then ULS President Isaac Ssemakadde was denied the opportunity to speak despite appearing on the programme.
During the 2025 ceremony, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo barred Ssemakadde from addressing the event unless the ULS apologised for what the Judiciary termed “vulgar and primitive assaults” on Justice Musa Ssekaana.
The demand was rejected, prompting Ssemakadde and the ULS executive to walk out of the ceremony in protest.
At the time, Ssemakadde accused the Chief Justice of personalising justice and suppr²essing dissent, deepening an already fraught relationship between the Bench and sections of the legal fraternity aligned to the Radical New Bar.
In its latest letter, ULS says the continued exclusion of the representative body of advocates from meaningful participation in Judiciary events risks damaging relations between the Bench and the Bar, which it describes as “two indispensable pillars of the administration of justice.”
The Society also disclosed that attempts to seek clarification from the Chief Registrar’s office regarding its participation had gone unanswered.
“In the circumstances, and having regard to the seriousness of the exclusion and the Judiciary’s prevailing antipathy to dissent, the ULS Council has resolved that neither the Society nor its members will participate in or attend the Opening of the New Law Year ceremonies,” the letter concludes.
However, Judiciary spokesperson James Ereemye said managing numbers is key on such budgeted functions.
"Otherwise were the Head of State is the Guest of honour attending is by invite. So purely is to manage numbers," Justice Ereemye said.
The latest dispute adds to a series of confrontations between the Judiciary and the Radical New Bar faction within ULS, whose former leader, Isaac Ssemakadde, has had repeated clashes with judicial officers and sections of the legal profession over issues of accountability, judicial criticism, and freedom of expression.
As preparations for the New Law Year ceremony continue, it remains unclear whether dialogue will be initiated to bridge the widening rift or whether the boycott announced by ULS will further entrench tensions between the Bench and the Bar.
