The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has formally abandoned its longstanding tradition of political neutrality by issuing an executive order that endorses a slate of opposition candidates for the 2026 general elections.
The order describes the step as a necessary defense of the rule of law amid what it calls the systemic collapse of democratic institutions. ULS president Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde signed Executive Order No. 6 of 2025, December 21, framing the decision as a response to “extraordinary circumstances” that have made neutrality “tantamount to complicity.”
The document cites a series of grave concerns, including the “excessive militarisation of civilian and political life,” a culture of “corruption and impunity,” and the “total capture of state institutions, including the judiciary.”
It further accuses the government of weaponising security forces to suppress dissent through abductions, torture and extrajudicial killings.
“The judiciary has been systematically undermined through deliberate coercion, rigged appointments, manipulated rulings, and clandestine judicial postings,” the order states, arguing the institution now acts as “a rubber stamp of militarism and political repression.”
The ULS also references President Museveni’s past admission of operating a “fridge,” a term used to describe an alleged covert detention site, and threats against voters as evidence of an environment where defending constitutional rights carries severe risk.
“Silence in the face of this systemic assault on constitutionalism, human rights and professional integrity would betray the core mandate of the Uganda Law Society,” Ssemakadde declares.
The order explicitly endorses National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) for president and Kampala lord mayor Erias Lukwago for re-election.
It also backs Dr Anthony Obuku Ekwaro for member of parliament in Oyam South constituency. Beyond these individuals, the ULS extends its endorsement to all NUP and People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) candidates at every level of the 2026 elections, as well as to any lawyers or law students who are members of the society and are contesting for office.
The endorsed candidates, the order asserts, “represent the foremost credible force for restoring constitutional order, economic justice, youth empowerment, accountable governance, and the independence of institutions.”
It describes their vision as “the only viable path to dismantling authoritarian consolidation.”
The ULS condemns what it labels the “Museveni/NRM regime’s decades-long normalisation of impunity” and calls for a “total political reset,” including demilitarisation, the liberation of state institutions, and an end to sham trials.
MOBILIZING THE LEGAL COMMUNITY
All members of the legal profession, law students, and civil society are called upon to mobilise support for the endorsed candidates. The ULS pledges to use its resources to educate the public on the “imperative of this historic electoral contest.”
The order further urges voters to “remain within the vicinity (20 meters distance) of the polling station to keep a watchful eye throughout the voting and counting of the votes.”
“The legal profession will no longer stand idle while the rule of law is extinguished,” Ssemakadde concludes.
“The 2026 elections present the moment to reclaim our nation and restore professional dignity.”
