Jurists demand investigation into ICJ Judge Sebutinde over pro-Israeli statements

In a letter addressed to ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa, the Geneva-based organization cited remarks attributed to Sebutinde during an August 10 address at Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda, where she stated: "The Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel."

The commission underlined that if these were accurate quotes of her remarks, Vice-President Sebutinde’s continued role in the court cases concerning Israel and Palestine would be “profoundly damaging” to the court’s impartiality, propriety, and integrity. They called for Sebutinde's immediate removal from the South Africa versus Israel genocide case.

The controversial statements were first reported by the Ugandan newspaper The Daily Monitor on August 13 in an article titled "My country disowned me after Israel-Gaza ruling."

According to the commission, Sebutinde allegedly told churchgoers: "There are now about 30 countries against Israel... the Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel. The whole world was against Israel, including my country.”

She also reportedly characterized the current Gaza crisis as a Biblical sign of the "End Times" and called on Christians to stay vigilant.

The International Commission of Jurists cited the UN Basic Principles on Judicial Independence, which require judges to decide matters "impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any improper influences."