Leading Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has been denied entry into Uganda and ordered to return home, according to the Uganda Law Society.
Karua had just arrived at the Entebbe airport to join a legal team representing detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is standing trial on treason charges.
She was expected to work alongside prominent Ugandan lawyer Erias Lukwago, who has also been representing Besigye. However, Lukwago was himself charged last week with a treason-related offence and was due to appear in court for a bail hearing on Monday.
In a statement, Karua’s office said she had been detained at the airport, adding that she was expected to return to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday but “remains incommunicado”.
“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,” the statement said.
Ugandan authorities did not give a reason for blocking Karua, although Kenya’s Law Society President Charles Kanjama, who had travelled with her, was allowed in.
Kanjama described Karua’s treatment as “of particular concern,” noting that they had travelled for the same case and in the same professional capacity.
“It is difficult to understand why one member of a defence team should be admitted while another is turned away,” he wrote in a post on X, calling on Ugandan authorities to explain the decision.