Within the space of a week, the state took actions that fundamentally affected the case in which four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and his political aide, Haji Obeid Lutale, are charged with treason and misprision of treason.
On Monday, June 15, Erias Lukwago, the immediate former Kampala Lord Mayor and Besigye’s most senior lawyer, was abducted from his home in Wakaliga, Kampala, by soldiers wearing Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) uniforms.
Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), later acknowledged on his X account that Lukwago was in his custody, posting photographs of the blindfolded former mayor. Lukwago was later charged with one count of misprision of treason.
The allegations against him are similar to those facing Besigye and Lutale. In a related development on Monday, June 22, Martha Karua, Kenya’s former Justice Minister and a prominent politician, was denied entry into Uganda at Entebbe International Airport.
She was subsequently deported to Nairobi after being declared persona non grata. Karua has served as Besigye’s lead counsel since 2024, when he was allegedly abducted in Kenya while attending the launch of her book.
Since then, she has travelled to Uganda numerous times to represent him in court. According to several people interviewed for this story, the state had become increasingly uncomfortable with both Karua and Lukwago as members of Besigye’s legal team.
“Some people contacted Besigye and others, telling him that he should file a bail application; that it would be granted on condition that he drops Martha Karua and Erias Lukwago as his lawyers. They said Lukwago was too political and shouts in court, and the judge would reportedly rather have Ernest Kalibbala and others who are more civil. For Martha Karua, the complaint was that she speaks with a lot of authority that undermines judicial officers.
Besigye said, ‘Wait a minute, a bail application can be filed, but I’m not dropping my lawyers,’” a source said.
The source claimed that Besigye’s refusal to remove the two lawyers triggered the events that followed. Another source familiar with the matter told The Observer that the catalyst for Lukwago’s arrest and Karua’s deportation was a decision by the court to hear Besigye’s application alleging human rights violations arising from his alleged abduction from Nairobi.
Justice Emmanuel Baguma scheduled that application, together with Besigye’s bail application, for hearing on June 30. In the human rights application, Gen Muhoozi, Col Peter Ahimbisibwe and Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga were named individually in connection with the alleged operation that brought Besigye from Kenya to Uganda.
Ahimbisibwe and Byaruhanga are currently in military detention. According to another source, the two officers are accused of leaking information about the operation.
“For the matter to move from Besigye to the military officers involved in the operation annoyed Muhoozi a great deal,” the source said.
“In granting a date to hear that matter, Justice Baguma never understood the gravity of that decision. It was Besigye who was supposed to be in the dock, not Muhoozi. You don’t know how long this matter will take and what it is going to expose. The President wanted the matter concluded quickly. That’s why he had chosen the Court-Martial. He believed it would secure a conviction based on the evidence they say they have. Now he is frustrated because it is taking too long,” the source added.
The same source claimed that the desire to conclude the case quickly prompted the state to withdraw an application seeking to conceal the identities of its witnesses.
“They had prepared their propaganda machinery to talk about how Besigye wanted to kill the President and how he was trying to print fake money, among other accusations. But because of technicalities, the case has not started. They are therefore trying to deal with what they see as delay tactics by Besigye’s lawyers,” the source said.
WHO PAYS KARUA’S COSTS?
For almost two years, Karua has made numerous trips to Uganda to lead Besigye’s defence team. According to sources within the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), the political party to which Besigye and Lukwago belong, Karua has personally covered her travel and accommodation expenses.
“Karua has been meeting her own accommodation and ticket costs. We only pick her up from and drop her off at the airport. She is part of a network of African leaders advocating for democracy across East Africa and the continent. That explains why representatives from several African countries have attended Besigye’s court proceedings. Martha has been coordinating all of them,” a source said.
According to another source, the international attention surrounding the case has been a source of discomfort for President Yoweri Museveni.
“Museveni has been uncomfortable with Karua from the beginning. When Besigye’s health deteriorated, Museveni became concerned and considered releasing him, but he wanted it done in a way that would not give Karua any credit. When he was informed that the deterioration was linked to a hunger strike, he abandoned the idea and instead directed that Besigye’s file be transferred to the High Court, which was what Besigye had been demanding,” the source said.
A business-class return ticket between Nairobi and Entebbe costs approximately Shs 3.5 million. Combined with accommodation expenses, Karua is estimated to spend about Shs 5 million on each trip to Uganda. Over nearly two years, those costs have accumulated into tens, if not hundreds, of millions of shillings.