Prominent Kenyan opposition leader Martha Karua has declared cross-border legal battle against Uganda government following her dramatic detention, phone confiscation, and forced deportation at Entebbe International Airport recently.
Karua, the leader of Kenya’s People’s Liberation Party (PLP), was abruptly stopped by immigration authorities and put back on a Nairobi-bound flight after being declared persona non grata.
She had traveled to Kampala to serve as co-counsel in the ongoing treason and misprision of treason cases surrounding incarcerated opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
Speaking to local media networks in Nairobi following her return, a defiant Karua labeled the state’s actions an absolute violation of East African Community (EAC) protocols. She confirmed plans to file parallel suits within the domestic courts of Uganda, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The airport operation unfolded rapidly on Monday morning, executing what regional legal bodies call a highly selective and politically driven exclusion policy.
The formal notification handed to her upon boarding contained no statutory justification under the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, simply bearing the three-word stamp: Persona Non Grata.
“The note I was given simply stated that the reason for denying entry was ‘persona non grata.’ That is not a legal reason; it is an arbitrary administrative decision,” Karua stated. “As an advocate licensed to practice in Uganda with a valid special license through Erias Lukwago’s law firm, this action violates my professional privileges and basic freedom of movement.”
Regional political analysts note that Karua’s abrupt deportation is inextricably linked to an escalating, high-stakes security campaign targetting the legal defense network of Dr. Kizza Besigye. Besigye has been in state custody since his controversial November 2024 abduction from Nairobi.
The deportation occurred exactly one week after the Special Forces Command (SFC) executed a pre-dawn raid on the home of Besigye’s co-counsel, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago. Lukwago was subsequently arraigned before a civilian court and remanded to Luzira Prison on charges of misprision of treason—allegedly failing to report treasonous designs to state security.
Defense lawyers have directly tied these aggressive border closures and residential arrests to recent public warnings issued by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, regarding an ongoing internal “Rectification Campaign” aimed at clearing out what the military establishment labels as domestic subversives and foreign-backed traitors.
Martha Karua’s threatened lawsuit against Uganda highlights major rifts in the East African Community.
The ban breaches the EAC Common Market Protocol which guarantees the free movement of citizens across partner states and challenges the fundamental rights of East African passport holders
With regional legal bodies mobilizing parallel lawsuits, the Entebbe standoff is set to severely test the structural limits of EAC treaties, executive overreach, and the fundamental right to legal representation within politically sensitive trials.
