Unchaining the Bar: Eron Kiiza’s Case for Presidency of the Uganda Law Society!
By Atwemereireho Alex
In the twilight of the Uganda Law Society’s current council and as Uganda’s legal community peers into the chasm between ideal justice and lived injustice, there emerges a singular figure whose life and vision might well redefine what leadership of the Uganda Law Society can, and must, become. That figure is Counsel Eron Kiiza. He must be voted ULS President, not merely as a change of guard, but as the catalyst of a legal reawakening. Here are the reasons why voting for Kiiza is not only justified, but urgent, rational, and morally imperative.
At the heart of his campaign is “UnChain The Bar”, a clarion call to free the legal profession and the justice system from the stifling regulatory, judicial, political, and economic chains that today threaten to eviscerate the rule of law in Uganda. These are not empty slogans. Through his life as lawyer, poet, environmentalist, public interest advocate, prisoner, and political target, Kiiza embodies the very resistance needed.
He has personally endured political persecution, military torture, and imprisonment, not for crimes of violence or subversion, but for defending those most vulnerable and holding power to account. These sufferings are not liabilities; they are credentials of moral authority. His record in public interest and human rights speaks volumes: defending environmental sanctuaries like Bugoma Forest, litigating against land grabs that displaced thousands in Mubende, and representing voices of dissent such as novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija. These are not occasional causes; they are sustained commitments that define his professional ethos.
Kiiza’s pedigree is both grassroots and institutional. He is an Advocate of the High Court; trained at Uganda Christian University and the Law Development Centre; a member of the ULS Rule of Law Committee, Human Rights Cluster, and Advisory Committee of NETPIL. His lived experience in the trenches of advocacy has shaped him into a man unafraid of confrontation with unjust power, and yet profoundly grounded in the institutions of justice.
“UnChain The Bar” is not an abstract mantra. It speaks to regulatory chains that burden practitioners with overbearing fees and licensing hurdles; judicial chains that enable civilians to be tried before military courts; political chains that weaponize prosecution and intimidate lawyers; and economic chains that stifle the welfare of especially younger lawyers and limit access to justice for the poor. It is a program of liberation, not mere symbolism.
Few candidates can claim to have been tested by the pressures, legal, physical, political, and remained unbowed. When the system tries to swallow you, your responses matter. Kiiza’s persistent fight is not celebrity martyrdom; it is sanctified courage in defence of law. He understands that lawyers are not bureaucrats but guardians of checks and balances. He has already put forward public critique of regulatory and judicial reforms that risk weakening constitutional guarantees, so voters won’t have to hope for promises; they will have seen action.
Under his vision, the ULS is not to be a club for the powerful, but an institution with the capacity to uplift the downtrodden women, youth, environmental defenders, those without money or connections. His empathy is not theoretical; it is lived. “UnChain The Bar” is more than rhetoric. It promises to address regulatory chains, judicial chains, political chains, and economic chains. Voters deserve a leader who has diagnosed the problem in detail and proposed a credible pathway of action.
Globally, Kiiza has earned legitimacy, recognition, and participation in forums of governance and rights. He has brought Uganda’s struggles to international platforms and attracted solidarity for local causes. This comparative legitimacy gives him an edge in linking ULS to the wider struggle for rule of law, democracy, and human dignity across Africa and beyond.
His critics argue that he is too confrontational, that he risks reprisals. But leadership that is silent in the face of injustice is not leadership; it is complicity. The erosion of rule of law, the loss of professional credibility, and the reduction of lawyers to servants of the state are far costlier than the risks of confrontation. Others question his administrative capacity, yet his track record in practice, committees, and public consultation proves he blends resilience with prudence, and strategy with inclusivity.
When the Bar is chained, justice retreats into the shadows. When lawyers fear not only in the law but in life, when prosecutorial and political harassment becomes normalized, every citizen loses. The Bar is not just an association of professionals; it is a public institution charged, by virtue of its mandate, with being a bulwark against tyranny, corruption, and arbitrariness. Leadership of the ULS is thus not a personal honour; it is stewardship of collective freedom.
In him, Uganda has an opportunity to elect a President of the Law Society who is rare in form and substance: battle-tested, visionary, grounded in principle, bold in speech, and experienced in action. If the Bar is ever to unchain itself from the regulatory, judicial, political, and economic chains that now bind it, there is no safer, no more principled, and no more compelling candidate than Kiiza.
If you believe in justice as a right, not a privilege; if you believe the Bar should serve people, not power; then the only vote that aligns with those beliefs is for Eron Kiiza for President of ULS. Let “UnChain The Bar” be more than a slogan. Let it be a movement. Let it begin with your vote.
The writer is a lawyer, researcher and governance analyst. alexatweme@gmail.com
