By Mulengera Reporters
Prof Fredrick Sempebwa, an eminent Ugandan lawyer and also former Uganda Law Society President, has confessed that Semakadde-ism is the new normal for Uganda and the rest of the world. He admits that disruptors, out to upset status quos, is the new normal globally and not just in Uganda. He was responding to a CBS radio interview this Friday morning. Interviewer Alex Nsubuga Katabalwa had demanded to know why Isaac Semakadde, anomalous and abominable as many people consider him to be, was able to win to become ULS President with such a landslide.
Sempebwa said we currently live in a world where a lot of things that used to be abominable and repugnant have been accepted to be normal. He gave the example of US President-Elect Donald Trump, observing that being a convicted felon, who was merely awaiting sentencing, didn’t stop millions of Americans from considering him the most appropriate candidate to become their President for the next four years.
Sempebwa said Ugandans had better accept reality that Semakadde is Uganda’s version of Donald Trump and that the Ugandan society should expect many more Semakaddes to emerge in several other spaces which used to be synonymous with civility. He observed that society evolves and sometimes things have to get worse first before getting better.
The implication is that you need disruptors like Semakadde to create chaos and cause destruction of the normative way of doing things before everyone begins to realize that things have indeed become broken and there is need to move towards rebuilding and reconstruction.
Arguably one of Uganda’s richest and most successful legal practitioners, Prof Sempebwa (who also fathers Pastor Robert Kayanja’s wife Jessica) revealed that he originally embraced Semakadde and used to summon him to his office for advice and guidance in his capacity as an elderly lawyer and former ULS President. He said his advice was that it’s okay for Semakadde to be firm and not be ashamed of his views but there was need for him to be less militant and disruptive while making his case.
Sempebwa said time came and he gave up. He said his conclusion is that Semakadde might be suffering from some strange health condition, which he may not be aware of. That the earlier he humbles himself and seek out medical expert verification the better so that he undertakes timely medication to remedy his situation.
Sempebwa said he is sometimes ashamed about the vulgar and unnecessarily radical language Semakadde uses on fellow leaders. He said he doubts Semakadde can prove some of the things he says to demean others. He likened it to saying that Gen Museveni has a small dick because “that would be going astray and taking political opposition too far because those listening to you will say but how did this man know that Museveni has a small dick.”
Sempebwa said there is a way out through which those disgusted can overcome Semakadde from the ULS Presidency. He said it only takes 15 ULS members petitioning and a vote of no confidence will be conducted on Semakadde. However, he doubted if anyone can overcome and prevail against Semakadde in any vote inside the ULS. To him, this shows that, inagreeable as he is, Semakadde is too popular for anyone to successfully oust through the lawful ULS channels. Sempebwa likened Semakadde’s popularity among ULS fraternity to that of Donald Trump in the United States.
He also had no kind words for those who tried to dismiss Semakadde from the ULS Presidency branding the procedure they tried to use ‘totally alien to the Uganda Law Society Constitution.’ Prof Sempebwa also agreed that a lot has gone wrong and that the whole country, and not just ULS, needs reform but he categorically disapproved of the militant and disruptive approach Semakadde has deployed to confront the situation. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at [email protected]).
