The Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy has declined to advise President Yoweri Museveni to grant a presidential pardon to the embattled self-exiled Uganda Law Society (ULS) president, Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde.
The committee held that the application for Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde was premature because the former had neither served his sentence nor exhausted his appeal rights.
In a letter dated November 28, 2025, addressed to Mr Atabua Letia Shamil, the committee said it could not consider the pardon request since Ssemakadde remains outside the country and is actively challenging his conviction before the court.
‘Mr. Ssemakadde has not served his sentence and is currently outside of Uganda,’ the committee observed, adding that he also has a pending appeal against both his conviction and sentence, meaning the judicial process is not yet exhausted.
The petition, submitted in May 2025, sought presidential intervention to pardon Mr Ssemakadde in order to facilitate the restoration of harmony within the Uganda Law Society, which has remained deeply divided since his stormy tenure at the helm of the Bar.
However, the committee cited Article 121 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to exercise mercy only upon its advice, guided by strict criteria. These include that a convict must have served at least three-quarters of their sentence, demonstrated genuine remorse, exhausted all appeal avenues, and received a favorable recommendation from prison authorities.
‘At its meeting of November 26, 2025, the Committee determined that as the judicial process is still ongoing, the petition is premature,’ the letter states, emphasizing that non-interference with active court proceedings is a core guiding principle of its work.
The decision effectively shuts the door, for now, on Ssemakadde’s bid for executive relief and leaves him facing arrest should he return to Uganda.
Two-year jail term and arrest order
Ssemakadde was sentenced in early 2025 by then High Court judge Musa Ssekaana to two years in prison for contempt of court, after the judge found that he had repeatedly attacked judicial officers using abusive and scandalous language on social media.
Justice Ssekaana ordered his arrest, citing the gravity of the conduct and Ssemakadde’s stature as a senior advocate and elected leader of the legal profession.
‘The repeated nature of the attacks by a person knowledgeable in legal matters and duly elected as president of Uganda Law Society invites this court to send a strong warning,’ Justice Ssekaana ruled.
He added that while citizens have a right to criticize the judiciary, Ssemakadde crossed the line into contempt by publishing personal attacks that undermined judicial authority and independence.
Court records show that between December 11 and December 22, 2024, Ssemakadde published a series of offensive posts on X (formerly Twitter), including the hashtag #SsekaanaMustGo, accusing the judge of bias and even alleging sexual harassment claims the court described as reckless and dangerous.
‘The threat to judicial independence through personal attacks and disinformation amplified by social media must be checked,’ Justice Ssekaana warned, noting that Ssemakadde’s posts emboldened members of the public to threaten judicial officers.
The ruling was delivered in Ssemakadde’s absence after he declined to file a response.
Beyond the contempt conviction, Ssemakadde also faces a pending criminal case for allegedly insulting former Director of Public Prosecutions Justice Jane Frances Abodo, further complicating his legal troubles and dimming prospects of executive clemency.
His legal battles have fractured the ULS, with rival camps accusing each other of undermining the profession, even as courts have continued to nullify several decisions taken under his leadership.
For now, the advisory committee’s position is unequivocal: until Ssemakadde submits himself to the justice system and completes the judicial process, the doors to State House remain firmly closed.