Commenting on the arrest and detention of city lawyer Male Mabirizi, The Fatboy Show Presenter Olive Najjuma said that some lawyers are damaging the image of the legal fraternity.
This was during The Fatboy show where she shared thoughts on the altercation between lawyers Isaac Ssemakadde and Male Mabirizi with Justice Musa Ssekaana.
Mabirizi was arrested in Banda following a week spent in hiding due to a court order issued by Justice Musa Ssekaana to all police officers in the country to arrest him on sight.
The lawyer was charged with contempt of court with a jail term of 18 months and for his unceasing attacks on judicial officers particularly Justice Musa Ssekaana whom he ‘insulted’ on social media saying the judge was incompetent, biased and unworthy to head even the smallest family court of a family.
“I feel like today, lawyers have become rowdy in a way. I know they raise pertinent reasons for saying the things they say but if you’re going to fight in the mud, then what makes you different?” Olive wondered.
“There are some sectors we used to look at with so much adoration and admiration and that is the legal fraternity. However, if you begin abusing each other and other people, as a client I'd be asking myself if this is the person I would want to represent me in court.”
Similarly, James Onen commonly known as Fatboy, the Co-host on the Show also expressed his displeasement towards the events. “I wasn’t impressed by Isaac Ssemakadde’s statements when he went viral for saying that he has a right to call someone a dimwit. I don’t know if it speaks to some people being childish in their thinking but why would that amuse you when two adults are acting like kids in a room? That should be a cause of concern,” Fatboy said.
“Yes, there are reasons for one side to feel frustrated but it calls for rising above the fray and to be one to lead by example by maintaining your dignity and decorum even when expressing discontent and disappointment with a political figure or government. But resorting to theatrics turns the whole discussion of politics into a joke. In other words, these political arguments end up becoming comedy,” he opined.
Fatboy further added that the political arguments that turn out to be comic make the country politically sterile with the subject of politics becoming less significant to the public.
“As a country, we end up paying the price where everyone starts taking politics as a joke. Meanwhile, the people taking it seriously are working behind the scenes pushing their agenda or entrenching themselves while facing no resistance since everyone is caught up in the childish melodrama of insults,” he said.
Earlier this week, human rights lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde was summoned by the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to record a statement for offensive communication. The Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) on February 1, 2021 came out to condemn Ssemakadde for conjoining with Male Mabirizi for attacking judicial officers.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.