ULS president sentenced to two years in prison
In one of his last rulings in the High Court, Justice Musa Ssekaana has sentenced Uganda Law Society President Isaac Ssemakadde to imprisonment for two years, for contempt of court. This follows a case in which Ssemakadde was accused of insulting and defaming the judge and the court. According to today's ruling, Ssemakadde through his private official X (formerly Twitter, handle @IsaacSsemakadde) started warning the Honourable Justice Musa Ssekaana accusing him of having “unholy alliances”, a ploy calculated to frustrate the good judge in determining a matter. In objecting, to Justice Ssekaana's other ruling, Ssemakadde launched an infamous X [formerly Twitter] Hashtag dubbed “#SsekaanaMustGo” under which he published more derogatory remarks and sentiments against the person on the trial. The ruling came in response to a case in which a Kampala lawyer, Hashim Mugisha had also sued Ssemakadde in the high court, on charges of defaming the judge. In Quoting other rulings, Judge Ssekaana said the right of free speech and the full expression of opinion are valued rights. "Their preservation, however, depends on the observance of the acceptable limit that they must not be used to undermine public order or morality or the authority of the State.