Overview:
The matter came up before Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa on Wednesday. Through his lawyers, Anthony Asiimwe and Yasin Ssentumbwe Munagomba, Mabirizi applied for bail, stating that he has a fixed place of residence in Kiwomu Zone, Mulago.
City lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi will spend more time on remand at Luzira Prison after the Prosecution requested additional time to verify the sureties presented in his bail application. Mabirizi is facing charges of malicious communication and hate speech linked to alleged TikTok posts targeting Chief Justice Flavian Zeija and Court of Appeal Justice Musa Ssekaana.
The matter came up before Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa on Wednesday. Through his lawyers, Anthony Asiimwe and Yasin Ssentumbwe Munagomba, Mabirizi applied for bail, stating that he has a fixed place of residence in Kiwomu Zone, Mulago. He presented four sureties, including Lawyer Nasser Kibazo, his sister Rukiat Ssebadduka, his brother Ismeal Nsereko, and poultry farmer Coas Mbaziira.
The defence asked the court to grant non-cash and lenient bail terms, arguing that Mabirizi has no passport and is therefore not a flight risk. They also noted that his income was disrupted following an 18-month imprisonment he served after a 2022 conviction. However, the Prosecution, led by Chief State Attorneys Richard Birivumbuka and Joan Keko, told the court they had only received the bail documents on February 13 and had not had sufficient time to verify the sureties.
Birivumbuka humorously remarked that the following day was Valentine’s Day, making it difficult to respond promptly, prompting defence lawyers to counter that Valentine’s Day is not a public holiday and should not delay state duty. In her ruling, Magistrate Kidasa said that although Mabirizi has a constitutional right to apply for bail, the Prosecution must be given time to confirm the credibility of his guarantors.
She declined to grant interim bail, noting that releasing him before verification would be illogical. The court granted the Prosecution until February 27, 2026, to verify the sureties. Mabirizi was remanded until the same date. Prosecution alleges that using his TikTok handle @male.mabirizi, Mabirizi shared information describing Chief Justice Zeija as a conman, fraudster, corrupt official, and someone who allegedly sold property to secure an appointment as Principal Judge.
The state argues that the statements were false and intended to ridicule or demean the Chief Justice. Similar allegations were allegedly made against Justice Ssekaana, with the prosecution stating Mabirizi shared claims portraying him as a conman and fraudster.
On January 27, 2022, Justice Ssekaana — then head of the High Court Civil Division — fined Mabirizi UGX 300 million for contempt of court following social media attacks on Justice Phillip Odoki. This followed Odoki’s dismissal of Mabirizi’s application seeking to stop the Capital Markets Authority from extending the MTN IPO window and listing shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
The Attorney General successfully applied for contempt proceedings, resulting in a fine and a warning against further attacks on judicial officers. Mabirizi later served an 18-month prison sentence linked to continued online criticism of judicial officers, including material he shared originating from exiled former Uganda Law Society President Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde.
At the 2025 New Law Year opening, then Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo described abusive attacks against Justice Ssekaana as among the gravest incidents witnessed during his tenure. The dispute has since contributed to ongoing tensions between sections of the legal fraternity and the Judiciary.
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