Legal activist Male Mabirizi Hassan Kiwanuka has said his continued imprisonment will not deter him from advocating for what he describes as a better-run judiciary and country.
Speaking to URN from Luzira Prison, where he has been remanded following his arrest three weeks ago, Mabirizi said that although he has applied for bail, he would not be disheartened if it is denied.
“I’m at peace because I know I’m doing the right thing. People lost trust in the executive, and people lost trust in parliament. The only arm of government that had retained some level of trust was the judiciary. But now the people that are being appointed there are steadily eroding this trust,” Mabirizi said.
Mabirizi was arrested and later charged before the Buganda Road court following complaints by chief justice Dr Flavian Zeija that Mabirizi had used his TikTok platform to spread malicious information and hate speech about him.
Prosecution alleges that following Zeija’s appointment as chief justice, Mabirizi claimed he had fraudulently procured his position within the judiciary. He was also charged with spreading hate speech against Court of Appeal judge Musa Ssekaana.
Last week, Mabirizi appeared before Buganda Road magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa to apply for bail. However, the prosecution, led by Richard Birivumbuka, sought more time to scrutinise his sureties.
He was subsequently remanded until Friday, February 27. Asked whether he expected to be granted bail, Mabirizi said the court’s decision would not affect his resolve.
“Last time I served the entire sentence that was illegally imposed on me by Ssekaana. I was not broken. There is no amount of intimidation that is going to stop me from holding these people accountable. When you are a judge, you are supposed to dispense justice without fear or favour. Unfortunately, some of our judges are not doing their jobs diligently, and they don’t want anybody to point that out,” Mabirizi said.
In 2022, Mabirizi was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment by justice Musa Ssekaana, then a High court judge, for contempt of court. The Court of Appeal declined to release him on appeal, holding that in contempt proceedings the only available remedy was an apology to the offended judge.
Mabirizi refused to apologise and served the full sentence. He is widely known for filing numerous public interest cases challenging various government decisions. Among his most notable suits was one against the Kabaka, in which he argued that the monarch, as custodian, does not own Buganda land. The substantive case has yet to be determined.
In 2017, Mabirizi was also among the petitioners who challenged the constitutional amendment removing the presidential age limit. Although the petition was ultimately dismissed, the challenge prevented parliament from extending its term from five to seven years.
In other words, Mabirizi is a living martyr being sacrificed on the Alter of Injustice!