Uganda Needs Judges with Balls of Titanium Alloy—Not the Shackles of the JSC Regulations, 2025: Why You Should Be Worried

Let’s not waste time.
Uganda’s judiciary has been hijacked. Quietly. Legally. Treacherously.

They didn’t need a coup d’état. They just needed Statutory Instrument No. 4 of 2025—the Judicial Service Commission Regulations—to pass unchallenged.

You can access a copy of those regulations here:

And now the Constitution isn’t bleeding.

It’s on life support. Plugged into a system designed to kill it slowly.

Judges on Acting Terms. Courts on Probation. Justice on the Brink.

Here’s what they’ve done:

Invented a system where new judges are appointed on in an acting capacity, with the duration determined at the whims of the appointing authority—yes, like interns at a mobile money kiosk.

Given the President the power to recycle retired judges, no questions asked. No medical. No mental. No morals.

Created performance evaluations for judges like they’re applying for a promotion at a law firm.

That’s right, you’re not day dreaming, the system was rigged. In 2022, the Constitutional Court damned this shrewd “sharp practice” and threw it in our Constitutional History by declaring it unconstitutional in Dr. Busingye Kabumba and Karamagi vs Attorney General.

A copy of that decision can be found here:

Good judgment, right? Damn, the government rigged it. It instead created a legal loophole which enabled it to pass these damned Regulations. 

Firstly, it appealed against.  Secondly  the government obtained what is in effect  a suspension of the independence of the Judiciary as the Supreme Court delays to decide the Government’s Appeal .

A copy of the decision which suspended the independence of High Court Judges as the government waits for a decision in its own appeal from the above case can be accessed from here:

Okay, let’s dive into the evil in the Regulations.
Reg. 29–33 and 31 are the smoking guns.
And what they shoot is judicial independence—straight between the eyes.

And Then There’s 2026…

Uganda’s next elections are not just around the corner—they’re rumbling like thunder.

And we know the script:

Mass arrests.

Disappearances.

Violent suppression.

Habeas corpus applications flying like confetti.

Human rights cases lined up like a firing squad.


It will take judges to hear them all.

But what kind of judges?

Not fearless ones. Not permanent ones. Not independent ones.

The Regulations guarantee this:

When the state comes for you, the judge before you may still be “acting,” “probationary,” or “awaiting confirmation.”

You don’t need a judge praying for job security.

You need a judge with balls forged from titanium alloy, ready to grab the State by its ball sac and say:

“Back off. The Constitution says this citizen walks free.”

These Regulations can’t produce that judge.
They produce whispering cowards in robes.

But Wait, There’s a Recruitment Cartel Too

They didn’t just kill judicial independence at the appointment level.

They also built a Search and Recruitment Committee—and a Sub-Committee—with a quorum of TWO people.

Let that sink in:
Two people can now shortlist Uganda’s judges.

Who are these people?

The Attorney General—yes, the government’s own lawyer.

The Chairperson of the JSC—currently Justice Singiza, who was once branded a “Nazi Judge” by opposition supporters for adjourning Besigye’s habeas corpus case instead of hearing it urgently.


And guess who they kicked out of this process?

The two (2) representatives of the Uganda Law Society.

The very people the Constitution says should be part of the Judicial Service Commission.

It Was Planned. Timed. Executed.

These Regulations were passed while the Uganda Law Society is in court, fighting to elect its representatives.

The plan is clear:
Keep them out. Lock the process down. Staff the courts with friendly judges. Control the law from the inside out.

This isn’t just bad law.

It’s a judicial cartel in robes.

And You Think It Doesn’t Affect You?

Wait until your land is taken.
Wait until your protest turns into a prison sentence.
Wait until your loved one disappears.
Wait until the courtroom is the only place left to cry out.

Then you’ll pray that your judge isn’t still auditioning for a contract renewal.

Here’s the Message:

Uganda’s justice system is being rebuilt—not to protect you, but to survive you.

It is no longer about law.
It’s about control.
It’s about loyalty.
It’s about silencing justice before you can even plead for it.

This is the war. This is the moment. This is the alarm.

If you have eyes you better see, and if you have ears you better listen.

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