The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has awarded a senior advocate Ladislaus Kiiza Rwakafuzi for his lifetime commitment to the fight for an independent judicial system in the country.

According to the ULS President, Isaac Ssemakade through the SocietySpokesperson Mary Gorreti Nakamya, he noted that Counsel Rwakafuzi now 63 years old has spent the last 20 years fighting for human rights as a distinguished person at the forefront of the battle against the trial of civilians in military courts.

She notes that Rwakafuzi has fundamentally reshaped Uganda’s legal landscape at his cost.

In response, Counsel Rwakafuzi who is in a wheelchair after suffering a stroke appreciated the award given to him and appealed to the legal fraternity to fight for civilians to enjoy their right to justice in the civil courts not in the General Court Martial.

To the young lawyers, Rwakafuzi challenged them to fight for the rule of law as they practice their trade.

Rwakafuzi has been appreciated at a time when the Supreme Court has set January 31st as the date to deliver its long awaited ruling on the constitutionality of trying civilians in military courts.

The decision stems from the 2021 appeal filed by the Attorney General after the Constitutional Court declared the trial of civilians in the General Court Martial unconstitutional.

By Olivia Nabaggala

29 Jan 2025

END