By KAMPALA; The Uganda Law Society (ULS), under the visionary leadership of its President, Isaac Ssemakadde, SC, took a historic step on December 21, 2025, by breaking away from the long-held misconception that the legal fraternity must remain politically neutral at all costs.
Through Executive Order RNB No. 6 of 2025, the Society notes that the prevailing political environment shaped by nearly four decades of rule by the incumbent National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has been marked by excessive militarisation, entrenched corruption, and a culture of impunity. This has resulted in the capture of key state institutions and a troubling erosion of judicial independence.
In light of these realities, the Radical New Bar asserts that continued neutrality is no longer a virtue but has instead become tantamount to complicity.
“Whereas the Judiciary has been systematically undermined through deliberate coercion, rigged appointments manipulated rulings and clandestine judicial postings, rendering it a rubber stamp of militarism and political repression rather than an independent pillar of justice,” stated the Executive Order.
Consequently, the ULS has resolved to take principled positions, including the unequivocal endorsement of selected candidates, where such action is deemed necessary to safeguard constitutionalism, the rule of law, and democratic governance.
The endorsed candidates include: National Unity Platform’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) for President of the Republic of Uganda; People’s Front for Freedom (PFF)’s Erias Lukwago for Lord Mayor of Kampala; Dr. Obuku Ekwaro for Member of Parliament, Oyam South Constituency; as well as all candidates of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) at all levels in the 2026 General Elections. The Radical New Bar strongly condemns the NRM/Museveni regime’s decades-long militarisation of the state and calls upon citizens to embrace what it describes as a necessary political reset.
Furthermore, the Radical New Bar rallies members of the Uganda Law Society, law students, and civil society actors to mobilise, canvass for support, and actively participate in the electoral process by supporting candidates of their choice in all contested races.
