Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has granted mandatory bail to social media content creator Ibrahim Musana, also known as Pressure 24/7, after he spent about five months on remand without his trial starting.
Chief Magistrate Neumbe Ritah Kidasa ruled on Wednesday that Musana had exceeded the 60-day constitutional period for a person to remain on remand before trial.
Musana is facing charges of unlawfully obtaining or processing personal data and hate speech.
Prosecution alleges that on March 5, 2026, at Asante Apartments in Kyanja, Nakawa Division, Musana obtained and used a photograph and the name of UPDF Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba without his consent.
He is also accused of using his TikTok account, @pressure247, to publish content about Kainerugaba that was likely to ridicule, degrade or demean him.
The charges were brought under the Data Protection and Privacy Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
Musana was remanded in March after the charges were sanctioned and presented before court. His case was mentioned several times but was repeatedly adjourned, with court records indicating that the prosecution file was under review at Police Headquarters and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
His lawyer, Yasin Ssentumbwe Munagomba, applied for mandatory bail, arguing that his client had spent more than the constitutionally allowed 60 days on remand without trial.
The prosecution initially sought time to study the law but later informed court that it did not oppose bail, provided strict conditions were imposed.
Chief Magistrate Kidasa ruled that Musana was entitled to mandatory bail and ordered him to pay one million shillings in cash bail.
He must also deposit his National Identity Card and an introductory letter from his LC1 chairperson.
Musana is required to present two substantial sureties, each of whom must be a Ugandan citizen with a fixed and verifiable residence or workplace within the court’s jurisdiction. Each surety must execute a non-cash bond of five million shillings.
The court also ordered Musana to attend all court proceedings and refrain from interfering with the complainant, witnesses or investigations.
This is the second time Musana has been granted bail by the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court.
In February 2024, he was granted bail after facing eight counts of promoting hate speech against President Yoweri Museveni, former Speaker Anita Among and Buganda’s Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
Those charges were dismissed in September 2025 after the prosecution failed to present witnesses or sufficient evidence to support the case.
Musana will be released from custody once he fulfils the new bail conditions, unless he is being held on other charges.
