Martha Karua reveals her return to Uganda

The Kenyan newspapers on Tuesday, June 23, covered an array of topics, including the barment of PLP leader Martha Karua in Uganda.

The newspaper space for People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua recounting her ordeal in Uganda where authorities denied entry on Monday, June 22.

Speaking after returning to Nairobi, Karua said Uganda had reverted to the dictatorial rule of the late Idi Amin Dada after she was detained at Entebbe airport and deported.

The former Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Justice had travelled to Uganda on a Kenya Airways flight with the president of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Charles Kanjama to attend a court hearing on the case of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.

Besigye was detained after being charged with treason. The mention of the case came up again Monday, with him (Besigye) seeking his release on bail.

Karua had landed at Entebbe airport to join Besigye’s lawyers including Lawyer Erias Lukwago. Lukwago himself was charged with treason last week and his bail case was also scheduled to be heard yesterday.

“Uganda has returned to the Amin Dada-style leadership where the military takes over from the police,” said Karua after landing at JKIA airport.

The Ugandan government did not give reasons for barring Karua even though Kanjama was allowed entry.

“Why should I be banned from travelling to an East African Community country when I have an East African passport and there is an East African Community? Or is this community a club of leaders?” asked Karua.

Kanjama himself was surprised by the move, saying they were all lawyers and had gone to Uganda for one of Besigye’s cases.

“It is difficult to understand why one of the lawyers is allowed and the other is blocked,” he posted on X, demanding an explanation from the Ugandan government.

Lukwago also appeared in court last Wednesday, weak, just days after being arrested at his home.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to report a treason case related to Mr Besigye’s case, and was ordered to remain in custody pending trial.

Besigye has been in custody facing treason charges since he was kidnapped in Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda in late 2024.

His abduction, along with that of his aide Obeid Lutale, sparked a heated debate in the East African region over legal authority and human rights issues.

Karua faced several obstacles before she was officially allowed to represent Besigye in court. Among the challenges was the rejection of her initial application to be allowed to practice law in Uganda.

Karua revealed that Ugandan immigration officers wanted to detain her in a cell before transferring him to the passenger area where he waited for a flight to return him to Kenya.

She claimed that two immigration officers forcibly took her phone before handing it back; two officers sat next to her until she boarded the flight to Nairobi.

Before boarding the flight, she was given a letter banning her from entering the neighbouring country.

Speaking during an interview on NTV’s breakfast show, the People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader said she would only return to the neighbouring country after President Yoweri Museveni leaves office. “I will visit Uganda after Museveni leaves power. He is not president for life,” she said.