Buganda Road Court has issued an international arrest warrant for Isaac Ssemakadde, the President of the Uganda Law Society, ordering Interpol to apprehend him.
The warrant was granted by Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi at the request of private prosecutors Tonny Tumukunde and Joshua Byamazima. The lawyers had earlier petitioned the court to arrest Ssemakadde on charges of insulting the modesty of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo.
Today, the prosecutors applied for an Interpol arrest, arguing that Ssemakadde is on the run outside the country. Satisfied with their submission, Magistrate Kayizzi authorized Interpol to arrest him on sight.
This development follows a ruling last month by Justice Musa Ssekaana, who sentenced Ssemakadde to two years in prison for contempt of court. The ruling stemmed from an application by Mugisha Hashim Mugisha, who accused Ssemakadde of publishing derogatory remarks on social media (X, formerly Twitter) against Justice Ssekaana and the judiciary.
Mugisha sought a court declaration that Ssemakadde had acted in contempt, an order restraining him from making further defamatory statements, his arrest and detention in civil prison, and Shs 300 million in damages.
In his ruling, Justice Ssekaana emphasized that contempt proceedings are intended to protect public confidence in the judiciary by penalizing statements or actions that undermine the court’s authority.
“The objective of contempt proceedings is to uphold the administration of justice by punishing acts that mock or diminish the authority of the judiciary,” Justice Ssekaana ruled.
