By Our Reporter
Uganda distanced itself Friday from Julia Sebutinde, a judge who voted against all provisional measures that a UN court ordered Israel to undertake in a case brought by South Africa concerning the war in the Gaza Strip.
“Justice Sebutinde ruling at the ICJ (the International Court of Justice) does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine,” Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, wrote on X. “Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through our voting pattern at the United Nations.”
South Africa, dragged Israel to the Hague-based ICJ on Dec. 29 on charges of genocide against Palestinians.
On Friday, the ICJ found South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide plausible. The court issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation.
Sebutinde voted against all six measures of the ICJ. She is now facing the wrath of the world for her vote with several social media users saying that Ugandans should be embarrassed.
“Judge Julia Sebutinde is such an embarrassment to her country & a disgrace to humanity. She didn’t just vote against S. Africa’s petition, she voted against reason & morality, justice & freedom, love & compassion. She voted against the very soul of humanity,” one Kenyan user wrote on X.
“Julia Sebutinde is a disgrace to all of us in Africa, more especially African women. She demonstrated that she is nothing else, but a paid-up agent of the criminal Zionist Entity of Israel,” wrote another.
Sebutinde was the sole judge who ruled against emergency orders against Israel.
But despite her vote, the UN court ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide in the besieged enclave.
Who Is Julia Sebutinde?
Born on February 28, 1954, Julia Sebutinde is currently serving her second term on the International Court of Justice following her re-election on 12 November 2020.
The judge, who hails from the central region of Uganda, attended Lake Victoria Primary School, Gayaza High School, and King’s College Budo, before entering Makerere University to study law.
Sebutinde graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1977 before obtaining a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in Kampala in 1978. In 1990, she enrolled at the Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh for her Master of Laws, graduating in 1991. In 2009, in recognition of her body of work and contribution to international justice, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Edinburgh.
Julia Sebutinde is the current chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University, a university owned by the Buganda kingdom. She has been a judge on the court since March 2012. She is the first African woman to sit on the ICJ.
Before being elected to the ICJ, Sebutinde was a judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She was appointed to that position in 2007.
Sebutinde first worked in the Ministry of Justice in the Government of Uganda from 1978 until 1990. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 1991, she worked in the Ministry of the Commonwealth in the United Kingdom.
She later joined the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Namibia, which had just attained Independence at that time. In 1996, she was appointed Judge of the High Court of Uganda.
