The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has rejected Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija’s recent caution to citizens against harassing judicial officials online.
In a statement released on Friday by the ULS executive headed by exiled President Isaac K. Ssemakadde, S.C, the law society noted that judges, like all public officials in a democratic society are not immune to public criticism of their duties on social media or elsewhere.
“Freedom of expression, as guaranteed under Article 29 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda and reinforced by Uganda’s international obligations (including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), protects robust-even offensive-public discourse about institutions of state power. This includes the Judiciary” the letter reads.
The ULS officials noted that public officers, especially those exercising immense authority over citizens’ liberties, lives, and property, must tolerate a higher threshold of scrutiny and unflattering commentary than private individuals.
ULS warned that judicial officers resorting to threats of intolerance or legal action against such expression risks undermining legitimate critique and eroding public trust rather than protecting judicial dignity.
The officials further accused members of the judiciary of allegedly resorting to adopt colonial era laws and recent passed laws, like the Computer Misuse Act and the Data Protection and Privacy Act to silence dissent against the judiciary.
The ULS urged the Judiciary to desist from surveillance of online speech, image curation, or punitive measures against critics since this threatens the very legitimacy the Judiciary claims to uphold, turning it from an arbiter of justice into a participant in the fray of power politics.
“The Judiciary must remain an institution of the people and above the political fray. It derives its authority not from coercion or enforced reverence, but from impartiality, competence, timeliness, transparency, and incorruptibility” the statement reads.
The law society has urged Dr Zeija to abandon his recent vow to take action against online critics of the judiciary since doing so would allegedly bring back memories of Emeritus Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny Dollo, who the ULS officials allege to have had a thin-skinned reactions, intemperate responses, and at times questionable competence in managing judicial reforms and public perception during his tenure.
“Should the Judiciary persist in treating critics as enemies rather than stakeholders, the public may increasingly treat judges as politicians. That outcome would serve neither the bench nor the nation, and the results-further erosion of respect, heightened cynicism, and diminished institutional authority-would be deeply unwelcome” the ULS officials said.
Recently, during the opening of the New Law Year in Kampala, Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija warned against online harassment of judicial officers, stressing the need to protect judges and magistrates from intimidation.
Dr Zeija further cautioned that the Judiciary will take legal action against people who harass judicial officers online as they carry out their duties.
