By BM
The once-vibrant Radical New Bar (RNB), an initiative introduced by Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde to foster transparency, legal literacy, and media engagement now echoes with silence.
What was once a weekly hub of energy, debate, and legal reform every Thursday at 11am has in recent months become a ghost town, with journalists, young lawyers, and even some ULS leaders failing to show up.
From Full House to Empty Seats
When Ssemakadde first launched the RNB Live Weekly Press and Public Engagement, it became a legal media sensation.
Journalists flocked to cover explosive updates, including Executive Orders suspending top figures from ULS activities and positions.
But lately, media houses that once competed to cover the sessions NBS TV, NTV, Daily Monitor, Bukedde TV among others have all but disappeared.
Two weeks ago, during preparations for the RNB Inaugural Digital Transformation Festival, tensions boiled over.
“Where are the journalists?”
A visibly frustrated Advocate Tony Galandi, the festival’s organizing chairperson, secretly grilled ULS Communication Head Adam Niwamanya after the Benz car launch event flopped due to low media attendance.
In his defense, Niwamanya, a former NBS court reporter, claimed he had reached out to multiple newsrooms. But some court reporters say otherwise:
“I wasn’t informed about anything,” said a long-time legal affairs journalist, who requested anonymity.
Leadership Gap or Communication Breakdown?
The decline in attendance has raised key questions: Is this just poor coordination or a symptom of something deeper?
The absence of President Ssemakadde, currently in self-imposed exile has created a leadership vacuum that is hard to ignore.
Even the ULS Vice President, Anthony Asiimwe, arrived late at the most recent RNB session, only making it in time to apologize as the event was winding down.
Earlier that day, he had represented ULS at the High Court’s new lawyers’ enrollment ceremony a significant event where Joel Ssenyonyi, Leader of the Opposition and NUP Spokesperson, officially joined the Bar.
“Community practice doesn’t mean the end of your learning journey,” Asiimwe told the few remaining audience members.
He encouraged young lawyers to embrace legal tech, Copyright law, and digital transformation but the energy of the RNB remained elusive.
The Topics Still Matter, But Who’s Listening?
The latest RNB session tackled Copyright and the Future of Performing Artists in Uganda, featuring industry heavyweights:
Francis Peter Ojede, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Cultural Center (UNCC) who was one of the speakers at the Thursday RNB engagement, deconstructed the controversial UGX 66 billion arts budget, sparking debate about equitable distribution.
Another speaker, Kenneth Muhangi, an IP law expert, exposed Uganda’s failure to protect herbal medicine innovations, pushing inventors to seek patents abroad.
“It’s sad that Ugandan professors must register their work in America while our local laws hold them back,” Muhangi said.
Despite the relevance of such issues, audiences are shrinking. Even law students and young advocates, once active participants, are now staying away.
Is the Radical New Bar Losing Relevance?
What began as a bold re-imagination of how legal institutions engage the public now risks fading into the background.
With key leadership absent, internal communication faltering, and media trust eroding, the Radical New Bar could soon become a cautionary tale of vision without execution.
“This platform was meant to make law accessible,” one ULS insider noted. “But when journalists, students, and even lawyers stop showing up, we must ask what’s gone wrong?”
The Verdict?
Without urgent intervention, the Radical New Bar may not survive long enough to fulfill its transformative promise.
As the legal fraternity watches from the sidelines, the question remains:
Can the ULS bring back the Bar or has the moment passed?
