The defence team representing Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has demanded the immediate release of Senior Counsel Martha Karua, accusing Ugandan authorities of unlawfully detaining her at Entebbe International Airport.
According to the team, Karua was detained on Monday after travelling to Uganda to attend the court mention and bail ruling of lawyer Erias Lukwago and to support the defence of Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale.
However, upon her arrival at Entebbe International Airport, the team said she was taken into custody and denied communication with her lawyers, family and members of the defence team pending a threatened deportation to Kenya.
“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the detention this day of Senior Counsel Martha Karua at Entebbe International Airport, where she is being held incommunicado, denied all contact with counsel, with the defence team, and with her own family, pending an unlawful deportation to the Republic of Kenya,” the team said in a statement on Monday.
They argued that detaining an advocate because of her involvement in legal representation was an attack on the justice system.
“To detain an advocate at the airport, sever her from her family and colleagues, and expel her for the offence of doing her duty as a lawyer is an assault not on one person but on the administration of justice itself,” it said.
The defence team linked Karua’s detention to previous statements made by Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on his verified account, arguing that the move was a continuation of threats against lawyers and supporters involved in the case.
The team cited a statement issued on June 19, 2026, where Gen Kainerugaba said the arrest of Lukwago was “just the beginning of the ‘Rectification Campaign’,” adding that “the lists are long” and that “many more traitors are going to be arrested too.”
It also referred to a June 15, 2026, statement in which he allegedly threatened legal actors, saying, “Please serve the papers, and I’ll arrest both you and whoever serves them!” and, beneath the pleadings in the matter, “And you’ll be arrested!”
The team further cited remarks where Gen Kainerugaba rejected the protection of lawyers, saying he disavowed “the inviobility [sic] of a legal profession in Uganda” that he accused of being “dedicated to the destruction of the 1986 revolution,” and rejected the Uganda Law Society’s defence of the rule of law as “Noted and Rejected!”
The defence team also cited another statement where he said of Lukwago and his lawyers, “He has been fighting me with Besigye for many decades. We are going to finish it now.”
The team emphasised that these are not idle words but a programme, allegedly being executed at Entebbe International Airport.
The team added that deportation of advocates had also been threatened through the same platform, quoting, “We will deport all the traitors in public view!”
They noted that Karua had become the latest target.
“The purpose is unmistakable. This action is designed to strip the defence of Col. (Rtd.) Dr Besigye, one of its leaders, to deprive the Hon. Erias Lukwago of essential solidarity and support at the moment of his bail ruling, and to intimidate every advocate who would stand for the accused,” the team said.
It described the action as “the deliberate dismantling of a legal team by extra-judicial means.”
The defence team said Karua’s detention and threatened deportation violated rights provided under Uganda’s Constitution, including the right to liberty, fair hearing and legal representation.
It also cited protections against incommunicado detention and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under Article 24 and the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act, Cap. 130.
The team further referred to rights under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community, including free movement, good governance, rule of law and human rights, as well as the right of detained foreign nationals to consular notification and access under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The defence team has now demanded immediate access to Karua by her lawyers, family and the Kenyan diplomatic mission.
It also demanded that any deportation process be stopped until lawful procedures were followed, reasons provided in writing and her right to challenge the decision respected.
The team called on the Uganda Law Society, the Law Society of Kenya, the East Africa Law Society and other stakeholders to intervene, while urging Kenyan diplomatic missions, the international community and relevant United Nations Special Procedures to take up the matter urgently.
“An advocate is not a traitor for representing an accused person. The targeting of Senior Counsel Karua confirms what the Kainerugaba record already establishes: a settled disposition to defeat these proceedings by force rather than by law. We will not be deterred,” the team said.
Karua’s executive office also confirmed that she had been detained at Entebbe International Airport after Ugandan authorities denied her entry into the country.
The office said Karua arrived in Uganda aboard a Kenya Airways flight alongside LSK President Charles Kanjama to attend the bail application ruling involving Lukwago. However, while Kanjama was allowed into the country, Karua was detained at the airport and remained unreachable.
“Senior Counsel and PLP Presidential Aspirant Martha Karua has been detained at Entebbe International Airport after Ugandan authorities denied her entry into the country this morning,” the office said in a statement.
It added that Karua was scheduled to return to Nairobi on Monday but remained incommunicado following the incident.
“Her senior team reports that she is unreachable, with her mobile phones switched off, and they continue to await direct communication regarding her status and expected return,” reads the statement.
The office defended Karua’s involvement in the case, saying she has been part of Besigye’s defence since his reported abduction in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, during her book launch.
It said she has continued to lead his defence under a valid legal practising certificate issued in Uganda. According to the office, the certificate is registered through the law firm of Lukwago, the immediate former Lord Mayor of Kampala, who serves as co-lead counsel alongside Karua in Besigye’s defence.
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