By KT Reporter
Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has remanded 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, facing four charges of hate speech and malicious information.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Joan Keko and Richard Birivumbuka, Mabirizi allegedly used his TikTok handle @male.mabirizi to circulate false claims about Chief Justice Zeija, including that he is a conman, fraudster, corrupt, a “court file grabber,” and that he sold property to bribe his way into becoming Principal Judge of Uganda. The prosecution argued that these claims were likely to ridicule, demean, or degrade the Chief Justice.
Similar allegations were levelled against Justice Musa Ssekaana, with Mabirizi accused of calling him a conman and fraudster, which the prosecution said was false and intended to ridicule or degrade the judge. Earlier in court, Mabirizi initially refused to take a plea, citing personal issues with the presiding magistrate. He noted that Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa is married to Don Wanyama, the New Vision boss, whom he accuses of oppressing him, and that CDF Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also an alleged oppressor, attended their wedding.
After consulting with his lawyers, led by Uganda Law Society Vice President Anthony Asiimwe, Mabirizi denied all charges. He was remanded until February 18, 2026, when the prosecution will update the court on the progress of investigations. This is not Mabirizi’s first confrontation with the judiciary. On January 27, 2022, Justice Ssekaana, then Head of the High Court Civil Division, ordered Mabirizi to pay 300 million Shillings for contempt of court after he posted social media attacks on Judge Phillip Odoki.
The attacks followed Odoki’s dismissal of Mabirizi’s application to restrain the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) from extending the MTN IPO window and listing shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange, citing incorporation issues. Despite a strong warning from Justice Ssekaana to stop attacking judicial officers, Mabirizi continued posting derogatory content on social media, including X (formerly Twitter). A few days later, exiled former Uganda Law Society President Isaac Kimaze Ssemakadde posted vulgar criticism about Justice Ssekaana, which Mabirizi retweeted. Mabirizi was later sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for continued attacks on judicial officers, which he served until 2023.
Retired Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo described the abuse of Justice Ssekaana as “the gravest” he had witnessed during his tenure. He warned that the Uganda Law Society (ULS) must apologize or face consequences. A month later, Ssemakadde faced an international arrest warrant and was sentenced to two years in prison; he remains in exile despite multiple appeals for pardon or sentence quashing. The ULS has refused to back down and is instead calling for an urgent meeting facilitated by neutral mediators to resolve the crisis and restore faith in justice, fairness, and due process.
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