KAMPALA, UGANDA; Leading Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has been blocked from entering Uganda and ordered to return home, according to the Uganda Law Society.
Karua had just arrived at the Entebbe airport to join a team defending her Ugandan lawyer colleague Erias Lukwago, with whom they have been representing detained opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason.
A statement from 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,” it 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 said it was “of particular concern” that Karua had been blocked, despite her travelling “for the same matter and in the same professional capacity” as himself.
In a statement issued Monday evening, Besigye’s lawyers said Karua was detained at the airport, denied access to her legal team and family, and subsequently returned to Kenya without any explanation from Ugandan authorities.
“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the detention of Senior Counsel Martha Karua at Entebbe International Airport,” the defence team said, adding that her deportation was “an assault not on one person but on the administration of justice itself.”
As of Monday evening, Ugandan authorities had not publicly explained why Karua was denied entry and deported.
The lawyers argued that Karua’s visit was lawful and intended solely to observe court proceedings and support fellow advocates involved in the high-profile case.
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