Social media content creator Ibrahim Musana, popularly known as Pressure 24/7, has been granted mandatory bail after spending about five months on remand without his trial commencing.
Buganda Road chief magistrate Neumbe Ritah Kidasa granted the bail on Wednesday, ruling that Musana had exceeded the constitutionally prescribed 60-day limit for pre-trial detention.
Musana is facing charges of unlawfully obtaining or processing personal data and hate speech, contrary to the Data Protection and Privacy Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
The charges stem from allegations involving Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
According to the prosecution, on March 5, 2026, Musana unlawfully obtained and processed a photograph and the name of Gen Kainerugaba without his consent. The prosecution further alleges that Musana subsequently used his TikTok account, @pressure247, to publish content about the army chief that was likely to ridicule, degrade or demean him.
Musana was arrested between March 10 and 11, shortly after the charges were sanctioned and presented before court. He was subsequently remanded to prison as the case came up for mention on several occasions.
However, the case did not progress to trial, with several adjournments attributed to delays in the prosecution process.
Court records indicate that the case file was at police headquarters for review and was subsequently subjected to scrutiny by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), contributing to the delay in commencing the trial.
It was against this background that Musana’s lawyer, Yasin Ssentumbwe Munagomba, notified court on July 22 that he would seek mandatory bail.
The lawyer initially presented Robert Kironde as a surety and told court that efforts were under way to secure a second surety. On August 5, Munagomba formally argued that his client had spent more than the constitutionally prescribed 60 days on remand without trial.
The State initially asked for time to research the law governing mandatory bail before responding to the application.
However, when the matter returned for a ruling, State Attorney Grace Amy told court that the prosecution did not oppose Musana’s release, provided that appropriate conditions were imposed to ensure that he attends court whenever required.
Five months in custody
In her ruling, magistrate Kidasa found that Musana had spent approximately five months on remand, well beyond the constitutional threshold, without his trial commencing.
She further found that the delay was not attributable to Musana and therefore held that he was entitled to mandatory bail. The magistrate said the remaining question before court was therefore the conditions under which he would be released.
Musana was ordered to deposit Shs 1 million in cash bail and undertake to attend court on every date to which the case is adjourned until its final determination.
He was also ordered to deposit his National Identity Card and an introductory letter from the LC1 chairperson of his place of residence.
In addition, Musana must present two substantial sureties, each of whom must be a Ugandan citizen with a fixed and verifiable place of residence or employment within the court’s jurisdiction.
The sureties must provide valid identification documents and LC1 introductory letters and execute non-cash surety bonds of Shs 5 million each. The court also barred Musana from directly or indirectly interfering with the complainant, witnesses or ongoing investigations.
He will only be released after fulfilling all the bail conditions.
Previous hate speech case
This is not Musana’s first encounter with the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court over controversial social media posts, nor is it his first time to secure bail in a criminal case.
In February 2024, then chief magistrate Ronald Kayizzi granted him bail after he was charged with eight counts of promoting hate speech against President Yoweri Museveni, former Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and the Kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
Musana did not directly plead to the charges at the time. Instead, he told court that he had not known that his online posts amounted to criminal offences and promised to stop attacking public leaders and delete the offending content from his TikTok account.
During the bail proceedings, Musana also told court that he had previously been admitted to Butabika Hospital over mental health problems, which he attributed to what he described as spiritual experiences involving the spirits of deceased Buganda kings.
He claimed the spirits were demanding that he repair their tombs and said he was a prince tasked with fulfilling the demand. Musana told court that he had spent about two years writing to Buganda Kingdom officials about the matter but had received no response.
The 2024 case followed a complaint by Buganda kingdom officials over allegations that Musana had ridiculed the Kabaka.
He was arrested and held in police custody for about a week before being charged and remanded to prison, where he spent nearly two months before securing bail.
Among the conditions imposed on his release was an order barring him from mentioning the names of President Museveni, Anita Among and the Kabaka.
The case, however, eventually collapsed. On September 24, 2025, the court dismissed all the charges, finding that the prosecution had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to sustain the case.
Back in court six months later
Barely six months later, Musana was back before the same court, this time facing allegations linked to Gen Kainerugaba.
The latest case has once again placed his social media activities at the centre of criminal proceedings, with the prosecution arguing that his publication of content about the CDF amounted to hate speech and unlawful processing of personal data.
Musana denies the allegations and will now fight the charges while on bail.
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