KAMPALA – The prominent Kenyan lawyer and Senior Counsel, Martha Karua, has been denied entry to Uganda at Entebbe International Airport and summarily ordered to return to Kenya without any explanation being provided.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Ms. Karua, who serves as the lead counsel for veteran Ugandan opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye and his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale in an ongoing treason case, had flown to Kampala to join the defence team for her colleague, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
According to the Uganda Law Society (ULS), Ms. Karua was accompanied by Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama, SC, and other legal colleagues.
While Mr. Kanjama and the rest of the delegation were cleared by immigration officials, Ms. Karua was singled out and instructed to return to her home country without any explanation.
Uganda Law Society Deputy President Antony Asiimwe, who had gone to Entebbe Airport to receive the Kenyan delegation, expressed shock after learning that only two members of the team were cleared for entry.
Asiimwe added that Ms. Karua was notably excluded and ordered to depart, with immigration officials offering no justification beyond informing her that she could not enter Uganda.
“We came to receive the team from Kenya, but when we reached the airport, we were made to understand that only two members of the team were allowed. Senior Counsel Martha Karua was not allowed to enter the country and she is being deported without any explanation. No reason was given for the denial of her entry. They just told her she can’t enter Uganda,” Asiimwe said.
The development came just as the Makindye Court was preparing to rule on the bail bid of Erias Lukwago, the Ugandan lawyer who has been held at Luzira Prison since last week on treason-related charges.
State prosecutors contend that Lukwago withheld crucial information about an alleged conspiracy involving his colleague and client, Dr. Kizza Besigye.
Dr. Besigye and Hajji Lutale were themselves recently arraigned before a military court following their repatriation from Kenya in 2024, an incident that has sparked intense regional debate over legal jurisdiction and human rights.
Martha Karua had previously been retained as part of Dr. Besigye’s international legal team and had actively participated in multiple court sessions across the country in matters related to her client’s detention.
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