Lawyer Male Mabirizi Remanded Over Alleged Hate Speech and Malicious Information.
By Skika Reporter.
Kampala — The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has remanded activist and lawyer Male Mabirizi on charges of spreading malicious information and hate speech against Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal Justice Musa Ssekaana and newly appointed Chief Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija.
Mabirizi was arraigned on Wednesday before Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa and faces four counts related to hate speech and malicious communication.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Joan Keko and Richard Birivumbuka, Mabirizi allegedly used his TikTok account, @male.mabirizi, to circulate false statements about Chief Justice Zeija.
Prosecutors claim Mabirizi referred to Zeija as a conman, fraudster, and corrupt individual, accused him of being a “court file grabber,” and alleged that he sold property to bribe his way into becoming Principal Judge of Uganda.
The prosecution argued that the statements were intended to ridicule, demean, or degrade the Chief Justice.
Similar allegations were made regarding Justice Musa Ssekaana, whom Mabirizi is accused of calling a conman and fraudster—claims the prosecution said were false and meant to undermine the dignity of the judge.
Earlier proceedings were briefly disrupted when Mabirizi initially declined to take a plea, citing personal concerns with the presiding magistrate.
He told court that Chief Magistrate Kidasa is married to New Vision Managing Director Don Wanyama, whom he accused of oppressing him, and noted that Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba—another alleged oppressor—attended their wedding.
After consultations with his legal team, led by Uganda Law Society Vice President Anthony Asiimwe, Mabirizi entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.
The court remanded Mabirizi until February 18, 2026, when the prosecution is expected to update court on the status of investigations.
This is not Mabirizi’s first legal confrontation involving the judiciary. On January 27, 2022, Justice Ssekaana—then Head of the High Court Civil Division—ordered Mabirizi to pay Shs300 million for contempt of court following social media attacks against Judge Phillip Odoki.
The posts came after Odoki dismissed Mabirizi’s application seeking to block the Capital Markets Authority from extending the MTN IPO window and listing MTN shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange.
Despite warnings to desist from attacking judicial officers, Mabirizi continued publishing derogatory content on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter).
He later retweeted vulgar posts by exiled former Uganda Law Society President Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde targeting Justice Ssekaana.
Mabirizi was subsequently sentenced to 18 months in prison for continued attacks on judicial officers, a sentence he served until 2023.
Retired Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo later described the abuse directed at Justice Ssekaana as “the gravest” he had witnessed during his tenure, warning that the Uganda Law Society would face consequences if it failed to apologize.
Ssemakadde was later subjected to an international arrest warrant and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He remains in exile despite several appeals for pardon or sentence quashing.
The Uganda Law Society has since rejected calls to back down, instead demanding an urgent, mediated dialogue to address the crisis and restore confidence in justice, fairness, and due process.
