‘Lord is Counting on Me’ – Ugandan ICJ Judge Defends Stance on Israel

Sebutinde was the only judge on the ICJ’s 17-member panel to oppose all six provisional measures issued by the court in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

Aug 15, 2025

Ugandan Judge Julia Sebutinde, who serves as vice-president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has claimed that “the Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel.”

The 71-year-old was the only judge on the ICJ’s 17-member panel to vote against all six provisional measures issued by the court last year in South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel.

“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,” Sebutinde reportedly said at a church meeting in Uganda on Sunday, according to the Ugandan news website Monitor.

Her decision was swiftly condemned by the Ugandan government, with the country’s permanent representative to the UN, Adonia Ayebare, writing on X: “Justice Sebutinde ruling at the ICJ does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine.”

Ayebare added: “Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through our voting pattern at the United Nations.”

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‘Compelled by God’

According to the Monitor, Sebutinde said that “I will never forget the day the judgment came out. Even though the government was against me, I remember one ambassador saying, ‘Ignore her because her ruling is not a representation of Uganda.’”

She also revealed that at the time of the ruling, the ICJ was due to hold elections for its leadership positions, including that of vice-president, which she sought.

Due to the outcry over her judgment, the report stated, she almost withdrew from the race but felt compelled by God to continue.

She claimed God had said, “You coward, wake up,” as she had decided to stay in bed on the morning of the election, feeling sick from worrying about the criticism over her decision.

‘End Times’

The report stated that Sebutinde was of the view that the crisis in Gaza “was a sign of the ‘End Times’ foretold in the Bible” and that she urged Christians to remain vigilant.

“I have a very strong conviction that we are in the End Times. The signs are being shown in the Middle East. I want to be on the right side of history,” she reportedly said. “I am convinced that time is running out. I would encourage you to follow developments in Israel. I am humbled that God has allowed me to be part of the last days.”

The report noted that the “End Times” refers to “events leading up to the physical return of Jesus Christ, as prophesied in the Bible.”

Plagiarism Accusations

Sebutinde, who briefly served as the ICJ’s acting president earlier this year, has been accused of plagiarising “sections of her dissenting opinion in which she voted against all provisional measures of South Africa’s case of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.”

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The ICJ announced in February that Sebutinde had been elected Vice-President of the world court “by her peers,” for a term of three years.

Her appointment was met with ire on social media, with one user saying, “The one judge who was criticized the most by the entire world just got a promotion.” Another wrote: “The ICJ really lost a lot of credibility with this selection as VP.”

Sebutinde has been a Member of the Court since February 6, 2012. Before joining the Court, she was a judge at the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2005 to 2011.

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