In May 13, 2026, the Uganda Law Council Disciplinary Committee held in its decision that the controversial Kampala city lawyer Richard Buzibira was guilty of professional misconduct, thus ordering for his removal from the practicing advocates roll, implying he couldn’t practice law for a given time.
Buzibira’s ejection followed a complaint filed by Pastor Daniel Walugembe, who accused him of forging documents allegedly authorizing Buzibira to process payments arising from a land sale involving the Uganda Land Commission. The said documents included instructions and powers of attorney purportedly issued by Joseph Sunday.
The disciplinary panel which included Moses Mushabebe Nabende, Dr. Pamela Tibihikirra-Kalyegira and Abubaker Sekanjako, held that the respondent had committed professional misconduct by involving in fraud and negligence, which caused gross loss and all sorts of inconvenience, hence punishing him.
In its decision, the Committee emphasized that Buzibira’s actions were a culmination of unnecessary litigation, compensation claims, and wastage of public resources that could have been avoided had he acted professionally.
As a deterrent measure, the Committee further directed that Buzibira’s Practicing Certificate (PC) equally be surrendered to the Chief Registrar, which prompted him to challenge the matter before Court, to rescue the situation.
The High Court Civil Division judge Simon Peter Kinobe shortly after issued an order stopping an execution of the Committee’s decision against Buzibira.
The judge ruled that “the execution of all orders of the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Council in LCD No. 94 of 2017 are hereby stayed pending the hearing and determination of Miscellaneous Appeal No. 0007 of 2026”.
However, this has not gone well with some advocates who argue that Buzibira used a wrong legal procedure in challenging the Law Council’s decision, hence, misleading Court into issuing an irregular order.
The lawyers insist that Buzibira’s proceedings were wrongly instituted, hence making his appeal defective, although it was within his right to appeal.
They reason that the Law Council is a quasi-judicial body that cannot directly be sued, considering that it falls under the Attorney General’s office.
“The Attorney General should take over the conduct of the matter or take appropriate legal steps to safeguard the interests of justice and ensure compliance with the law. Under the Advocates Act, Cap. 295, the Law Council does not possess corporate legal personality”.
Buzibira is not New to Controversies.
When he appeared before the justice Catherine Bamugemereire’s Land Probe Commission in May 2018, Buzibira was accused of having colluded with the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) officials when he fraudulently received multiple payments amounting to more than 10 billion shillings of the 150 billion Uganda government Land Fund from the ULC, aimed at compensating land lords for bibanja owners in Bunyoro and other parts.
Buzira was also grilled on allegations of being an intentional trader in government land, having taken advantage of one old Teddy Nansubuga (Kibaale district) illiteracy, who was meant to receive a 1.47 billion government compensation for land, but never as result of alleged fraud. He was also grilled by the parliamentary COSASE chaired by Joel Ssenyonyi in 2022 over a 2 billion fraudulent land compensation payment by the ULC
The same Commission had first arrested pastor Daniel Walugembe in March 2018 over claims of equally dealing in public land when he fraudulently sold of 507 acres of land belonging to a family he was claiming to help, ending up pocketing their 500 million from ULC meant for a family that had sold land to the Commission.
