Kenyan senior counsel and People’s Liberation Party (PLP) presidential aspirant Martha Karua has claimed she is being held at Entebbe International Airport after Ugandan authorities reportedly denied her entry into the country.
In an urgent statement issued shortly after arriving aboard a Kenya Airways flight, Karua said she had been blocked from entering Uganda despite traveling to Kampala on official legal business.
Karua had traveled to Uganda to join the defense team representing opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused in an ongoing treason case that has attracted significant attention across the region.
She was also expected to join the legal team of Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who is facing charges of misprision of treason and is currently seeking bail before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court.
The veteran lawyer said that while Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama, who was traveling with the same delegation, was allowed into Uganda, she was stopped by immigration officials and prevented from proceeding.
Reports from the Uganda Law Society and Karua’s office later confirmed the incident, raising fresh concerns about access to legal representation in politically sensitive cases.
The development comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the arrests and prosecution of Dr. Kizza Besigye, Obeid Lutale, and Erias Lukwago.
Karua’s reported detention at the airport has sparked debate across the region, with observers questioning the implications for cross-border legal practice and the ability of defense lawyers to participate in high-profile political cases.
Neither Ugandan immigration authorities nor government officials had publicly commented on the matter at the time of publication.
