KAMPALA .
Lawyers from across the East African region are planning to stage peaceful demonstration at Uganda’s Court of Appeal on Thursday July 10 ,2025.
The demo, according to members of East Africa Law Society (EALS) is aimed at expressing their disillusionment on how some cases involving the Uganda Law Society (ULS) have been handled .
They say they are unhappy with the decision by the Ugandan judiciary to remove the appeals filed by ULS .
“To preserve judicial independence and allow ULS to effectively deliver on its mandate, we unequivocally support ULS’s call for members to assemble peacefully at the Court of Appeal tomorrow [Thursday ] to demand the hearing of these appeals,” Mr Ramadhan Abubakar ,the EALS President said in a statement issued Wednesday
He added: “This gathering is a lawful defense of constitutionalism, judicial accountability, and the legal profession’s integrity.”
The four appeals, Civil Appeal Nos. 61, 98, 99, and 102 of 2025, were expected to be heard Thursday ,but were pulled from the cause list in a July 3 letter by Court of Appeal Registrar Lady Justice Allen Rukundo Owembabazi, who cited “erroneous cause-listing” as the reason.
In a sharp response dated July 4, ULS Vice President Anthony Asiimwe called the removal “procedurally flawed and legally indefensible,” accusing the Registrar of bias and manipulation of court processes.
He also rejected the registrar’s directive to send the appeals for “conferencing,” arguing it lacked legal grounding.
Mr Asiimwe referenced a previous Court of Appeal decision, Security Group (U) Ltd v Marie Stopes Uganda (Civil Appeal No. 156 of 2013), which held that conferencing is not a mandatory precondition for hearing appeals.
The contested appeals raise significant constitutional and statutory issues, including the nomination of representatives to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) under Article 146(2)(c) of Uganda’s Constitution, as well as procedures for convening general meetings under the Uganda Law Society Act.
One of the appeals stems from the High Court’s February 2, 2024 ruling in Kalali Steven v Uganda Law Society, which directed the holding of elections to the JSC.
Other appeals relate to blocked member-requisitioned and Council-ordered general meetings, and claims of judicial harassment against the ULS President.
EALS said the removal of the cases threatens Uganda’s regional and international obligations and undermines democratic governance. “This deliberate act violates Uganda’s international and regional obligations and imperils democratic governance,” the EALS statement read.
The society warned of far-reaching implications for the rule of law if judicial independence is not upheld. “We demand accountability for this egregious interference with the legal profession,” the statement added.
Thursday’s protest is expected to draw legal professionals and civil society figures who say the incident signals an erosion of institutional credibility and a shrinking space for professional autonomy.
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