Charismatic Uganda Law Society president Isaac Kimeze Ssamakadde has engaged a new gear in their painful struggle to rescue maverick lawyer Male Mabirizi from prison.
In this fresh move, Ssemakadde has secured a date and a new magistrate to preside over the Uganda Law Society human rights violation application against the Attorney General.
The application was assigned to Law Development Centre (LDC) Chief Magistrate Timothy Lumunye who set 25th of August 2026 to hear the said application.
The development comes at the back of Mabirizi’s strong worded letter to Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Wanyama where he accused her of frustrating his efforts on retaining his freedom.
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Mabirizi was arrested in February 2026 and charged with offences related to the Computer Misuse Act on grounds that he used his personal social media handles to defame and undermine the person of the Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija and controversial Court of Appeal judge Musa Ssekaana.
After the Constitutional Court declared the sections in which Mabirizi was being charged unconstitutional, instead of being released, Lino Anguzo the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) slapped him with fresh charges of broadcasting on social media without a license.
Mabirizi made several attempts to be released on bail but the presiding magistrate Kidasa, a wife to New Vision Chief Executive Officer Don Wanyama has been dismissing his attempts on technicalities which forced the him to file an application for her recusal.
In his application, Mabirizi accused Kidasa of being biased against him citing a petition he made at the Judicial Service Commission seeking for her removal as a judicial officer on grounds of being incompetent.
Kidasa dismissed all the three applications for recusal which forced Mabirizi to file criminal charges against her through a private prosecution.
Mabirizi also filed another reference at the East African Court of justice against the Attorney General because of Kidasa’s actions which he claimed violated his rights as an East African citizen.
As Mabirizi was struggling to secure his freedom, his longtime comrade Ssemakadde through Uganda Law Society also filed an application challenging Mabirizi’s continued imprisonment which was assigned to another judicial officer.
In their application, Ssemakadde insists that charging Mabirizi with broadcasting without a license” under Section 28 of the Uganda Communication Commission violates Mabirizi’s human rights.
“A broadcasting license is required only for a “broadcaster” defined as a licensed person who packages and distributes television or radio program services for reception subscribers or the public. This does not encompass an individual operating a personal TikTok account. Imposing Licensing requirements on individual users (or freedom of expression via social media platforms exceeds the scope of the Act,” the application reads in parts.
The application further reads that the complainants being leaders within the same Judiciary renders the prosecution selective, discriminatory, duplicitous, and an abuse of court process.
“The violations have inflicted grave harm on the applicant’s Rule of Law Champion and sent a chilling signal to millions of Ugandan social media users. Allowing the DPP to sanction such prosecutions where the complainant and adjudicator are from the same institution, the DPP ignores its own complaint handling standards, and a self-represented litigant faces the full weight of the judicial establishment, imperils personal liberty, silences free speech, and erodes public confidence in the rule of law,” the application further reads.
Dismissing charges against Mabirizi according to Uganda Law Society is an urgent intervention which is required to vindicate the impugned rights, deter future violations, and protect the broader public.
