Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi has dismissed Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde’s application to halt his criminal trial, clearing the way for proceedings to continue in a case in which he is accused of indecently insulting a woman.
In a ruling delivered on December 16, 2025, the magistrate rejected the application in its entirety, describing the initial filing as fatally defective and the subsequent attempt to amend it as an abuse of court process.
Ssemakadde, who is charged under Section 115(3) of the Penal Code Act in Criminal Case No. 913 of 2024, had asked the court to stay proceedings pending the determination of Constitutional Petition No. 0017 of 2025.
In that petition, he challenges the constitutionality of the provision under which he is being prosecuted.
The case was privately prosecuted by lawyers Tonny Tumukunde and Joshua Byamazima.
The application ran into difficulty when it emerged that the supporting affidavit had been sworn by Brian Akandwanaho, who presented himself as an advocate acting for Ssemakadde.
Court records, supported by a letter from the Chief Registrar dated September 10, 2025, showed that Akandwanaho is not enrolled as an advocate of the High Court of Uganda.
Magistrate Kayizzi ruled that a person not qualified to practise law cannot lawfully swear an affidavit in the capacity of counsel, especially where the affidavit addresses matters of legal representation, court procedure and judicial conduct.
Having found the affidavit incompetent and inadmissible, the court held that the application was left without any evidential foundation and had to be struck out.
Ssemakadde’s lawyers later filed an amended notice of motion, supported by a fresh affidavit sworn by advocate Ntale Rogers.
However, the filing was done without leave of court, despite the fact that timelines had already been set for submissions on a preliminary objection raised by the prosecution.
The magistrate found that the amendment was not a minor correction but a substantive change, noting that replacing the deponent introduced entirely new evidence.
He cited the Supreme Court decision in Gaso Transporters Ltd v Martin Adale Obene, emphasising that amendments must be made in good faith, should not prejudice the opposing party and must not be intended to defeat a pending objection.
In this case, the court concluded that the timing and manner of the amendment were aimed at circumventing the prosecution’s objection and therefore amounted to an abuse of court process.
The magistrate added that even in the absence of procedural defects, the application would still have failed.
He stressed that the filing of a constitutional petition does not automatically stay criminal proceedings before a magistrates’ court. A stay can only be granted by an express order of the Constitutional Court or through the exercise of judicial discretion.
In his final orders, Magistrate Kayizzi dismissed the application, struck out both the original and amended filings, and directed that Criminal Case No. 913 of 2024 proceed in accordance with the law. No order was made as to costs.
The ruling also raised concern over the conduct of Brian Akandwanaho. The magistrate observed that holding oneself out as an advocate without being enrolled is an offence under the Advocates Act and undermines public confidence in the administration of justice, noting that the matter may warrant further investigation.
The decision brings to an end Ssemakadde’s first attempt to halt the trial, which has attracted significant public attention and will now continue in the ordinary course.