Kenyan opposition leader and Senior Counsel Martha Karua has been denied entry into Uganda after arriving at Entebbe International Airport to join the legal team representing detained Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Obeid Lutale.
Karua had travelled to Uganda to support the defence team led by prominent Ugandan lawyer Erias Lukwago, who is involved in the case facing Besigye and Lutale. However, upon arrival, Ugandan authorities reportedly refused to allow her into the country and ordered her to return to Kenya.
“Honourable Martha Karua had arrived in the country to join the defence team representing her defence colleague Erias Lukwago in the case involving Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale. Advocate Lukwago is set to be arraigned before the Makindye court,” The Uganda Law Society said in a statement.
“While the colleagues she travelled with were allowed entry into the country, Honourable Karua was denied entry and instructed to return to her home country,” added the Uganda Law Society.
According to information from the legal team, Karua’s colleagues who travelled with her were allowed entry, but she was singled out and blocked from proceeding into Uganda.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny of Uganda’s handling of the case involving Besigye, a long-time opposition leader and former presidential candidate, and Lutale. The two are facing serious charges that have drawn regional attention and concern from legal and human rights groups.
Lukwago, a former Kampala Lord Mayor and a key member of Besigye’s defence team, was recently charged with misprision of treason, an offence linked to allegedly concealing information related to treason. He has denied the charge.
He is expected to appear before the Makindye court, even as his legal colleagues continue to raise concerns over the treatment of defence lawyers involved in politically sensitive cases.
Karua, a former Kenyan Justice minister and current PLP party leader and also a presidential aspirant in Kenya’s 2027 general election, has previously been involved in Besigye’s legal matters in Uganda. Her participation in the defence team has positioned the case as one with broader regional significance, particularly on questions of due process, access to legal representation and the independence of the justice system.
Ugandan authorities have not immediately issued a detailed public explanation for denying Karua entry.
The denial comes at a time when Besigye’s case continues to attract attention beyond Uganda’s borders. His supporters and lawyers have repeatedly called for a transparent process, while Ugandan authorities have maintained that the matter is being handled through the country’s legal system.
Karua’s expected return to Kenya will likely intensify debate over Uganda’s handling of the Besigye case and the role of regional lawyers in politically sensitive trials.
The defence team is expected to continue pursuing the matter in court as Lukwago faces his own legal proceedings and Besigye and Lutale’s case remains under close public watch.
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