All Eyes On Kidasa As DPP Anguzu Declines To Oppose Lawyer Mabirizi’s 5th Mandatory Bail Attempt….

Buganda Road Chief State Attorney Joan Keko on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lino Anguzu didn’t object to maverick lawyer Male Mabirizi’s 5th attempt to have him released on mandatory bail.

DPP Lino Anguzu, Ritah Kidasa and lawyer Male Mabirizi

Buganda Road Chief State Attorney Joan Keko on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lino Anguzu didn’t object to maverick lawyer Male Mabirizi’s 5th attempt to have him released on mandatory bail.

On Tuesday, Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Rita Kidasa Wanyama promised to deliver her ruling on Mabirizi’s mandatory bail on 21st August, 2026.

In his application, Mabirizi cited a number of authorities where High Court judges of the Criminal Division of the High Court Paul Gadenya and David Matovu released suspects on mandatory bail after they spent mandatory days on remand without their criminal trials kicking-off.

Mabirizi told Court that the days he has spent on remand reached the mandatory 60 days without his trial kicking-off noting that staying on remand is a violation of his constitutional right.

Mabirizi told court that at this point he does not need to present sureties; the presiding magistrate has to be commanded to release him and direct him to report back to Court to follow up on the prosecution’s readiness to proceed with the trial.

Mabirizi was arrested in February 2026 at Mulago roundabout near pastor Samuel Kakande’s church and was taken to Kampala Central Police station where he was charged with Computer misuse.

After spending two weeks on remand, the Constitutional Court declared that he was charged under laws which violated the Constitution but the DPP slapped fresh charges of broadcasting through his social media platforms without a license on him.

“For me, I’m very happy that Lino has realised that he is being used to abuse his office which he holds on behalf of the people of Uganda by not objecting to my mandatory bail application. Now the ball is in Magistrate Kidasa’s Court to continue abusing her powers to make his bosses who are the complainants against me happy or follow what the law commands her to do,” Mabirizi said.

He added that the only scare he has is the strange and scary bail conditions which Kidasa may slap on him during his release including directing him to deposit huge amounts of money which he doesn’t have or to deposit a passport.

Mabirizi’s imprisonment resulted from a complaint made by Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija and controversial Court of Appeal judge Musa Ssekaana who accused him of using his social media platforms to attack them.

When Kidasa, the wife to New Vision Chief Executive Officer Don Wanyama presided over Mabirizi’s criminal trial, he protested citing biasness against him because he filed a complaint at the Judicial Service Commission seeking for his removal from the office of a judicial officer on grounds of her being incompetent.

Mabirizi made several recusal applications against Kidasa but they were all dismissed, he then concentrated on bail applications before filing for mandatory bail.

He filed two applications but they were both dismissed-on grounds that his sureties presented expired national identity cards.

When the sureties presented receipts showing that they had applied for renewal of their national identity cards, the magistrate told them that she was going to first determine Mabirizi’s recusal applications

For the entire month of July and early August, Kidasa has been assigning other magistrates to adjourn Mabirizi’s case because she has been absent on other official duties.

Mabirizi has been protesting this in the dock claiming that the magistrate is hiding from his case to keep him in prison as a way to revenge on him for dragging her to Judicial Service Commission.

Uganda Law Society also intervened in Mabirizi’s case by filing a Human Rights Enforcement application at the Law Development Centre (LDC) Court and the matter was assigned to Timothy Lumunye.

Lumunye set 25th August, 2026 to hear the said application where the Law Society is seeking a dismissal of the charges on grounds that the charge sheet on which Mabirizi is being charged is defective.