___________________

Maverick lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi has protested the fixing of his 35 cases for mention on the same day saying it does not only defeat logic but that it is blatantly unconstitutional.

The 35 cases have been lined up for mention tomorrow (Tuesday, March 26, 2024) at 2:00 pm before Justice Musa Ssekaana, the head of the civil division of the High Court.

According to the cause list, 28 cases are against the Attorney General while others are against the Electoral Commission (EC), Judicial Service Commission (JSC), MTN Uganda Limited, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), Makerere University, Capital Markets Authority (CM) and Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

In a post on his Facebook wall, Mabirizi wondered why the judge had fixed his 35 cases on the same day and same time for mention yet they do not relate and were filed on different dates. “We won’t participate in such un-constitutionalities,” Mabirizi stated.

Mabirizi contends that lining up his 35 cases for mention on the same day and time before the same judge contravenes the provisions of articles 28 and 44(c) of the Constitution that provide the right to a fair hearing.

In his letter dated March 22 to Simon Kintu Ziruntusa, the deputy registrar of the Civil Division of the High Court with copies to the Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija and all respondents in his cases, Mabirizi stated:

“It defeats logic that at 2:00 pm, 35 cases involving myself will be mentioned. This has never happened in any part of the world. This is a clear contravention of Articles 28 and 44 (c) of the Constitution and I cannot be part of that aggravated derogation of the right to fair hearing using deadly judicial weapons,” Mabirizi stated.

Mabirizi also faults the court for not consulting with him before hurriedly fixing the cases yet he has two cases that have been fixed for hearing on the same day at Mbale High Court.

Mabirizi contends that the hearing of his two cases at Mbale High Court takes precedence over the 35 cases that have been lined up for mention.

The lawyer who might go down in Uganda’s history for having filed several cases in courts accuses Justice Ssekaana of defying the Principal Judge’s directives contained in his letter dated May 10, 2023, in which the head of the High Court had directed respective judges who had files to handle them.

“Let each judge who had the files handle them. I cannot participate in such insubordination,” Mabirizi contends.

Mabirizi had vowed never to appear before the court presided over by Justice Ssekaana after he condemned him to 18 months in jail for contempt of court.

This was after the Attorney General filed an application stating that Mabirizi had posted on his social media platform contemptuous messages demeaning judges Ssekaana and Philip Odoki based on their decisions.

Mabirizi developed mistrust against Justice Ssekaana in 2019 when the judge declined to recuse himself from the case in which Mabirizi together with Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago unsuccessfully challenged the appointment of Justice Simon Babyakama as the EC chairperson without relinquishing his position at Court of Appeal.

Mabirizi argued that Justice Ssekaana was conflicted in the matter because he was formerly a lawyer of EC. 

Since then, Mabirizi vowed never to appear before the court presided over by Justice Ssekaana insisting that he is not only biased but holds a personal vendetta against him.

Mabirizi says he shouldn't appear before Justice Ssekaana anymore than either engage in a fistfight with him or send him back to jail.