KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda Law Society (ULS) President Isaac Ssemakadde is threatening to sue NBS Television and its Chief Executive Officer Kin Kariisa over a broadcast he calls defamatory and malicious. The report implicated him in an $840,000 gold scam.
In a legal notice dated May 6, 2025, Ssemakadde, through his lawyers, demanded a public apology and a full retraction of the report. He is also seeking Shs11 billion (approximately $3 million) in general and punitive damages.
The NBS Investigates segment, titled “Bang the Gold: Radical New Gold Scam,” aired on May 5, 2025. It alleged that Ssemakadde and his law firm, Maxim Advocates, played a key role in a gold fraud scheme that involved fake gold, money laundering, and defrauding an American investor, Robert Turner.
The report claimed Turner wired $840,000 in November 2024 to Maxim Advocates’ Stanbic Bank Uganda account for taxes and logistical support for a 150kg gold shipment facilitated by Green Wave International Ltd., a company reportedly linked to Ssemakadde’s legal work.
NBS reported that $750,000 was subsequently transferred to Mohamed Abdi Rashid, who has been previously linked to similar gold fraud cases. The broadcast also alleged that Maxim Advocates included its bank account details on the invoice sent to Turner, suggesting direct involvement in the transaction.
The exposé cited leaked emails, bank transfers, and whistleblower statements as evidence, portraying the law firm as central to laundering the scam’s proceeds.
Ssemakadde, in his legal notice, strongly denied the allegations, calling the report a “calculated smear campaign” and accusing NBS and Kariisa of spreading falsehoods and violating his privacy by airing his voice and image without permission. He stated he has never been involved in any gold transaction with the American investor.
The legal notice asserted that the report has severely damaged Ssemakadde’s reputation, leading to online abuse and public embarrassment.