By Johannah Nantongo
Maverick lawyer Male Hassan Mabirizi has finally secured mandatory bail after spending close to six months in custody.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa, in a ruling delivered on Thursday, ordered Mabirizi to deposit a cash bail of Shs2 million and provide two substantial sureties who will execute a non-cash bond of Shs5 million each.
The court also ordered Mabirizi to provide, through his sureties, details of his permanent place of abode for verification by an officer appointed by court.
Mabirizi, who represented himself in the application, will also be required to deposit his passport with court and must obtain written permission before travelling outside Uganda until his trial is concluded.
“He shall not, directly or indirectly, interfere with any prosecution witness,” Ms Kidasa ruled.
She further ordered Mabirizi to personally appear in court on every date fixed for the hearing of his case, warning that failure to do so could result in cancellation of his bail.
The decision comes after Mabirizi renewed his bid for release from custody, having earlier faced a setback when the same court rejected his previous bail application over failure to meet identification requirements.
In the earlier bail ruling, Ms Kidasa said Mabirizi had failed to attach a copy of a valid national identity card or other recognised identification document to his bail application.
The magistrate also rejected proposed sureties after finding that they had presented expired national identity cards without proof that they had applied for renewal.
“The sureties have not identified themselves properly before this court,” Ms Kidasa had ruled.
She also rejected Mabirizi’s argument that his National Identification Number (NIN) and a letter of introduction from his Local Council chairperson were sufficient to establish his identity.
“If the law had thought that a NIN number was sufficient in supporting an application for bail, it would have said so, but it did not,” the magistrate said.
However, in the latest ruling, court granted the mandatory bail application, subject to the conditions imposed.
Ms Kidasa also declined two Notices of Reference to the Constitutional Court filed under Article 137(5) of the Constitution.
Mabirizi had sought to challenge aspects of the proceedings through constitutional references, but the magistrate declined the prayers.
The court also rejected his request to have the case dismissed for want of prosecution.
“The prayer for dismissal of the case for want of prosecution is declined,” Ms Kidasa ruled.
Mabirizi is facing four counts under the Computer Misuse Act over alleged social media posts targeting Chief Justice Flavian Zeija and Court of Appeal Judge Musa Ssekaana.
The prosecution led by Chief State Attorney Joan Keko previously presented her first witness in the matter.
Mabirizi had also indicated plans to challenge the jurisdiction of the court and seek the magistrate’s recusal, while his lawyers said the Uganda Law Society had petitioned the Constitutional Court over provisions of the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act under which he is charged.
With the latest ruling, Mabirizi is expected to regain his freedom once he fulfils all the bail conditions set by court.