By Ruth Anderah
The Police in Kampala has finally arrested lawyer Male Mabirizi to go and start serving his 18 months jail term handed to him for contempt of court.
The arrest of Mabirizi comes exactly a week after the High Court Civil Division Judge Musa Ssekaana issued an order directing every Police officer in Uganda to arrest him upon sight and be taken to Kitalya Mini Max Prison to serve an 18 months punishment for continued attack of judicial officers.
Mabirizi is currently being held at Jinja Road Police Station waiting to be taken to Kitalya as ordered by Court.
The order to send Mabirizi to jail was issued by Ssekaana after finding him guilty for contempt of court for the second time.
Ssekaana’s decision followed an application by State Attorney Patricia Mutesi from the Attorney General’s Chambers who argued that despite a January 27th, order warning Mabirizi to desist from attacking judicial officers, he continued making contemptuous posts on his social media platforms against him (Ssekaana) and the Judiciary.
The lawyer had also described the Shs 300 million m fine that was issued against him by Ssekaana last month for contempt of Court as null and void which statement was viewed as an attack on Court and Judiciary as a whole.
The arrest has come just one day towards the hearing of Mabirizi’s application seeking to stay execution of all orders issued by Justice Ssekaana against him including his conviction and subsequent sentencing to prison.
It is expected to be heard tomorrow before Court of Appeal Justice Christopher Izama Madrama and all parties had already put in submissions to the application.
Mabirizi had also petitioned the Principal Judge Dr. Flavian Zeija to allocate other pending cases of his at the Civil Division of the High Court to a different Judge other than Ssekaana but he was yet to get feedback from the Principal Judge.
The pending applications at the Civil Division sought to set aside orders of Ssekaana for having been issued without granting Mabirizi a right to fair hearing.
