High Court in Kampala has ordered for immediate arrest of controversial lawyer Male Mabirizi.
Civil Division High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana found Mabirizi guilty of contempt of court for the second time and has since issued orders to have him arrested where he is to serve 18 months in jail.
The orders followed an application by State Attorney, Patricia Mutesi who argued that despite the high court orders issued on 27 January cautioning Mabirizi to desist from attacking judicial officers, he is adamant and continues making contemptuous posts on his social media platforms against the presiding judge (Ssekaana) and the entire Judicial system.
The prosecution alleges that Mabirizi accused Ssekaana of being biased, incompetent, and unable to head the smallest court of a family and one who doesn’t qualify for any award from Uganda Law Society and even for a Grade Two Magistrate further noting that the rest of the posts were crafted in vulgarised language.
Mutesi also noted that Mabirizi described the fine of Shillings 300 million imposed on him by Justice Ssekaana last month for contempt of Court as null and void, saying this wasn’t only an attack on the court but the entire Judiciary.
In this regard, Mutesi asked the court to find Mabirizi guilty of contempt of court and commit him to civil prison.
Mabirizi’s lawyer Noel Nuwe however, asked the Court to give his client an opportunity to appear and explain if he made the posts in violation of the earlier court order.
He argued that Mabirizi was not aware of the court ruling that barred him from attacking judicial officers and only came to know about it on Tuesday morning and needed more time to defend himself.
In his ruling, Justice Ssekaana noted that Mabirizi never presented himself nor filed any affidavits denying the accusations even when he was summoned. He explained that given the circumstances, the court was left with no option but to order for his arrest on sight to serve 18 months in civil prison.
Justice Ssekaana noted that he was forced to make the brief ruling to avoid further attacks, adding that he will deliver a detailed ruling supporting his decision in due course.
Ssekaana and Mabirizi’s woes started way back in 2019 during the hearing of an application challenging the decision by Justice Simon Byabakama to continue working as the Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson without relinquishing his powers as a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
In the proceedings, Ssekaana told Mabirizi to submit his ‘rubbish’ when he accused him of bias thus Mabirizi vowed never to appear before Justice Ssekaana voluntarily.
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