When Justice Weeps, Shall the Christian Lawyer Remain Silent? A Rhetorical Call to the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity

 

By Isaac Christopher Lubogo

 

Prof. Ben Twinomugisha made this deep comment “As of now, Eddie Mutwe and others are going through a lot of suffering…” This is not just a passing statement. It is a piercing cry echoing through the alleys of injustice, a lament that should trouble not just the conscience of society, but burn especially in the hearts of Christian lawyers—more so those within the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity (UCLF). The question now demands to be asked, not quietly but thunderously:

 

Shall we pray in polished boardrooms while men rot in unpolished cells?

Shall we quote Micah 6:8 on banners but fail to walk humbly, love mercy, and do justice in practice?

Shall the salt of the earth lose its savor in the court of Caesar, just to gain the favor of men?

 

1. The Biblical Mandate: Justice is Not Optional

 

Scripture is unambiguous about the lawyer’s role in society. Isaiah 1:17 thunders:

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

 

Justice is not a career—it is a calling. It is not a contract—it is a covenant. And the Christian lawyer is not just a professional—he or she is a prophetic voice against the Pharaohs of our time, the Herods who detain without trial, and the Pilates who wash their hands while innocent men are whipped by legal processions.

 

2. When Silence Becomes Sin

 

Proverbs 31:8-9 leaves no room for comfortable neutrality:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

 

When Christian lawyers—especially members of UCLF—choose institutional caution over biblical courage, we betray our calling. When we know where justice is being twisted, yet we do nothing in the name of “professional distance,” we commit sins of omission as deadly as any crime of commission.

 

Ask yourself:

Where is your voice when the voiceless are screaming?

Where is your brief when the powerless are detained without cause?

Where is your indignation when the Constitution is mocked behind courtroom curtains?

 

3. Christ, the First Advocate

 

Remember: the Christian lawyer does not serve at the pleasure of man, but under the ultimate Judge. Jesus Himself is described in 1 John 2:1 as our “advocate with the Father.” His mission was to intercede, defend, and redeem—not the righteous, but the accused, the guilty, the forgotten.

 

A Christian lawyer must mirror Christ’s posture: to stand in the gap, not above it. To stoop for the wounded, not step over them. When Eddie Mutwe and others suffer—often not because of guilt but because of politics, profiling, or poverty—the true Christian lawyer does not retreat into silence. He or she stands—firm, fearless, and faithful.

 

4. The Rhetorical Reckoning

 

Let us then rhetorically ask:

 

What is the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity if not a body of conscience?

 

Shall our meetings end with “God bless you” while prisons echo with injustice?

 

Shall we perfect legal drafting but forget the bleeding neighbor on the road to Jericho?

 

When Christ returns, will He find us defending Caesar or pleading for Paul?

 

5. The Call to Action: Justice as Worship

 

Justice is not a social trend; it is a form of worship. Amos 5:24 declares:

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

 

To my fellow Christian lawyers, especially in UCLF: the time to act is now. Let our hands not only lift in prayer but also draft petitions, file habeas corpus applications, and stand in court as defenders of the oppressed.

 

We must build a generation of lawyers who see legal practice not as a path to comfort but a battleground for righteousness. For what shall it profit us to win cases and lose our prophetic voice?

 

Conclusion: Let Justice Not Be a Whisper

 

Let us not be remembered as those who stood silent when history begged for Christian courage. Let us rise—not just as lawyers—but as advocates of the Cross, defenders of the downtrodden, and vessels of justice in a land thirsty for righteousness.

 

The prisons may be full. The accused may be forgotten.

But if we—the Christian lawyers of Uganda—remain silent, who then shall speak?

About the Author:

Isaac Christopher Lubogo is a Ugandan lawyer and lecturer