Karua Blocked Entry
Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua Denied Entry to Uganda Amid Besigye Legal Tensions
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Key Points
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In the weeks before Monday’s airport incident, Karua said her most recent Uganda court appearance was earlier that month, when she (with Lukwago and other defence lawyers) objected to the continuation of proceedings after prison authorities failed to produce Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale; the defence argued it would violate the right to a fair hearing and pushed for an adjournment.
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Karua’s broader role in the Besigye matter extends beyond travel to Kampala: the article notes she has been a key member of Besigye’s defence team since early 2025 and has repeatedly challenged the legality of Besigye’s detention, opposed procedural delays, and raised concerns about Besigye’s health and the conduct of proceedings.
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Following Lukwago’s arrest and remand, the Uganda Law Society announced a nationwide lawyers’ strike for June 26, and the East Africa Law Society condemned what it described as intimidation of lawyers handling politically sensitive cases.
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Lukwago’s case posture was described with added specifics: he was reported on remand at Luzira Prison and had appeared before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court seeking release on bail.
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The reporting also connected Lukwago’s arrest to statements by senior figures and opposition allegations: the article says condemnation followed Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba boasting on social media after the arrest, while Bobi Wine alleged Lukwago was seized on Kainerugaba’s orders as he was preparing to serve a court summons on the military chief.
Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua was denied entry into Uganda on June 22, 2026, and ordered back to Nairobi at Entebbe International Airport — with no explanation from immigration officials. The move is the latest blow to the defence team of jailed opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, whose lead counsel, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, was arrested just one week earlier on treason-related charges and sent to Luzira Prison.
Karua, who has served on Besigye's defence team for 18 months, called the denial an "additional setback" for a defence already under severe pressure. Strikingly, Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama, who travelled with Karua, was allowed into Uganda without issue. Only Karua was turned back.
How Karua Was Cleared, Then Called Back
According to The Kenya Times, Karua and Kanjama arrived at Entebbe together on the morning of June 22. Immigration initially cleared both of them. Then officials called Karua back and told her she could not enter the country. No written reasons were given. Uganda Law Society Vice President Antony Asiimwe, who was at the airport to receive the Kenyan lawyers, confirmed the sequence of events. "After being cleared, she was called back and told she can't get into the country," he said.
Ghafla Kenya reported that the denial sparked immediate regional tension. The Law Society of Kenya called it a breach of East African Community protocols on the free movement of persons. The East Africa Law Society condemned what it described as intimidation of lawyers handling politically sensitive cases.
Lukwago Arrested, Charged for Defending His Own Client
Lukwago was arrested on June 15 at his home in Wakaliga. Nile Post reported that operatives scaled his perimeter wall after he refused them entry. He was arraigned at Makindye Chief Magistrate's Court on June 17 and charged with misprision of treason — a crime that means knowing about a treasonous plot and failing to report it. He is now on remand at Luzira Prison. In court, Lukwago pushed back directly: "The people you have mentioned are my clients and so I could never have committed a crime," he told the magistrate.
Legal analysts say the charge effectively criminalises attorney-client privilege. If a lawyer hears strategy from a client accused of treason, the state is arguing that lawyer must report it — or face up to 10 years in prison. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Museveni and Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, boasted on social media after the arrest: "I have captured a FOOL and taken him to the basement!" Opposition leader Bobi Wine alleged Lukwago was targeted because he was preparing to serve a court summons on Muhoozi himself, connected to Besigye's 2024 abduction from Kenyan soil.
Besigye's Case Has Spiralled Since a 2024 Abduction
Besigye and his aide Hajj Obeid Lutale were reportedly abducted in Nairobi in November 2024 and forcibly brought to Uganda. They were initially tried in a military tribunal. On January 31, 2025, Uganda's Supreme Court ruled that trying civilians in military courts was unconstitutional and ordered the case moved to a civilian court. Karua joined the defence team in early 2025 and has since challenged the legality of Besigye's detention and raised concerns about his health in open court.
As recently as earlier in June 2026, Karua appeared in a Kampala court alongside Lukwago and other defence lawyers to object to proceedings continuing without Besigye and Lutale present. Prison authorities had failed to produce them. The defence argued this violated the right to a fair hearing and pushed for an adjournment. That objection was one of Karua's last court appearances before she was turned away at the airport entirely.
Lawyers Plan a Nationwide Strike as Tensions Boil Over
The Uganda Law Society announced a nationwide lawyers' strike for June 26, 2026 — the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The strike is expected to shut down Uganda's courts for at least 24 hours. 001 FM reported that the East Africa Law Society has also weighed in, condemning what it calls a pattern of intimidation against lawyers in politically sensitive cases. With Lukwago in prison and Karua barred from the country, Besigye is now effectively without his two primary legal strategists.
The Ugandan government says the arrests and entry denials are "administrative and security-based," arguing that the legal team has gone beyond advocacy into coordinating paramilitary activities. The defence rejects that entirely. Human rights monitors warn that removing regional observers like Karua "darkens the courtroom," reducing visibility of potential abuses just as Uganda enters a post-election period under President Museveni's seventh term, which began in May 2026.
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