Jailed lawyer Male Mabirizi has asked the High Court to cancel Pastor Aloysious Bugingo's bail after Entebbe Chief Magistrate Juliet Nakitende rejected the same application on January 25.
Mabirizi filed the application on February 18, and the High Court Kampala Criminal Division is set to hear it on Thursday, March 31st, 2022.
The lawyer is currently in jail following his arrest on February 22 and is serving a jail term of 18 months for contempt of court.
Mabirizi accuses Bugingo the lead pastor at House of Prayer Ministries of committing bigamy and contracting marriage with Suzan Makula Nantaba, breaching sections of the Marriage Act and the Penal Code Act.
This followed Bugingo’s introduction by Makula to her parents, something they both denied and applied for bail which was granted by Grade One Magistrate Stella Paculal Okwong .
However, Mabirizi argues that Okwong granted the duo bail without first disposing of the first application challenging the move by the Director of Public Prosecutions-DPP to take over the case file and the second application asking the court to order Bugingo to pay a security bond of shillings 2 billion and also stop making threats of death and violence against him as a private prosecutor and witness.
Okwong fixed the hearing for the second application on February 28, but dismissed both applications on January 21, saying the 1995 Uganda Constitution empowers the DPP to take over any case file initiated by individuals or any other authorities and that she was granting Bugingo and Nantaba bail because they had presented substantial sureties. The DPP represented by State Attorney Amerit, also did not oppose their bail application.
On January 24, Mabirizi urged the Entebbe Chief Magistrate Juliet Nakitende to cancel Bugingo's bail because proceedings of that day were irregular and illegal but she rejected his request. She said the proceedings of January 21 and the decision made thereafter were not irregular or illegal. "
Mabirizi has now decided to pursue the issue at the High Court, saying he was not given a fair hearing before making the decision on all his applications at Entebbe court.
