Pressure Bites! Bebe Cool Deletes ‘Defamatory’ Posts Against Jolly Mutesi After Legal Threat

By Swift Reporter

Ugandan music star Moses Ssali, popularly known as Bebe Cool, has deleted a series of social media posts in which he accused former Miss Rwanda Jolly Mutesi of being connected to an alleged online impersonation and fraud scheme, marking a dramatic shift in a dispute that had rapidly escalated into a potential legal battle.

The controversial posts, which sparked widespread debate across social media platforms, disappeared from the singer’s X account on Thursday, hours after Mutesi’s lawyers issued a formal legal notice demanding an immediate retraction and apology over what they described as defamatory allegations.

The dispute began earlier this week when Bebe Cool publicly claimed he had been targeted by individuals operating an online impersonation scheme. According to the singer, the interactions initially centered on football-related discussions, including conversations about his son, Alpha Ssali, before expanding into promises of influential international connections and business opportunities.

Bebe Cool alleged that the individuals involved claimed links to renowned football journalist Fabrizio Romano and discussed potential oil-related ventures in Kenya. He further suggested that other victims may have been affected by what he described as a broader network of deception.

The singer subsequently linked the alleged scheme to Mutesi, publishing screenshots of conversations he claimed supported his assertions. However, the identity of the individuals behind the accounts and phone numbers referenced in the posts was not independently verified.

Mutesi, a former Miss Rwanda 2016 and entrepreneur, strongly rejected the allegations, insisting she had never communicated with Bebe Cool and had no connection to the phone numbers or accounts cited by the musician.

Through her legal team at Mbidde & Co. Advocates, she accused the singer of publishing false and damaging statements that had harmed her reputation. The lawyers maintained that Mutesi herself had previously warned the public about imposters using her name and photographs online and argued that she was a victim of identity theft rather than a participant in any fraudulent activity.

In a formal notice served to the musician, the lawyers demanded that he cease publishing the allegations, issue a public retraction and apology, and disclose the sources of information on which he based his claims. They warned that failure to comply within 48 hours would result in legal proceedings for defamation, injurious falsehood and aggravated publication of false statements.

Despite initially standing by his allegations and repeating them on social media on Wednesday, Bebe Cool appeared to soften his position on Thursday by removing the posts from public view.

However, the singer stopped short of issuing an apology or publicly withdrawing his claims. Instead, he only confirmed that he had complied with advice to delete the posts.

The removal of the content has raised questions about whether the dispute is headed toward a private resolution or whether legal proceedings will still follow.

Neither Bebe Cool nor Mutesi has publicly indicated that the matter has been settled, leaving the possibility of further developments both in court and on social media.

The case highlights the growing legal and reputational risks associated with online disputes in East Africa, where allegations shared on social media can quickly attract public attention and trigger formal legal action. As digital platforms increasingly become battlegrounds for personal and professional conflicts, courts across the region are seeing a rising number of cases involving defamation, impersonation and the spread of unverified information.

For now, the deletion of the posts may have cooled tensions, but the dispute remains unresolved, with both sides yet to signal whether the controversy has truly come to an end.