Martha Karua, a Kenyan human rights lawyer who is part of the legal team for Uganda’s opposition politician Kizza Besigye, was on 22 June 2026, arbitrarily arrested and held in incommunicado detention at Entebbe International Airport before being forcefully deported. In response to these developments, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Tigere Chagutah said:

“Martha Karua’s detention and subsequent deportation are unlawful and outrageous. They are not only a blatant violation of the East Africa Community Treaty, but also a shameless attempt to suppress trial observation which is central to the transparency of court processes.

“This arrest, coming days after the arbitrary detention and torture of Kizza Besigye’s lead defence counsel Erias Lukwago, (whose bail application hearing she was going to attend), points to a continuation of a long and disturbing pattern of arbitrary arrests, torture and ill treatment of Kizza Besigye’s legal team. Amnesty International reminds the Ugandan authorities that Kizza Besigye has a right to legal representation.

Martha Karua’s detention and subsequent deportation are unlawful and outrageous. They are not only a blatant violation of the East Africa Community Treaty, but also a shameless attempt to suppress trial observation which is central to the transparency of court processes.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

“Amnesty International further reiterates its call for the immediate release of Erias Lukwago and Kizza Besigye who has now been held in arbitrary detention for over 500 days.”

Background

Martha Karua was in Uganda to observe Erias Lukwago’s court mention (an administrative court hearing) and bail ruling. She was not provided with any reasons for her arrest, and her mobile phones were confiscated.

On 16 November 2024, Kizza Besigye was abducted in Kenya, before resurfacing days later at a military court in Kampala, which charged him and fellow opposition member Haji Obeid Lutale with offences relating to security and unlawful possession of weaponry. Besigye has been in detention ever since.

On 15June 2026, Erias Lukwago, a prominent Ugandan lawyer who is defending Besigye in the treason trial, was arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured before being charged himself with treason-related offences.

On 7 January 2025, during a hearing of Besigye’s case, soldiers physically prevented another of his lawyers, Eron Kiiza, from entering the section in the military court reserved for defendants’ lawyers. He responded by shouting and banging on the courtroom barricade. Soldiers assaulted the lawyer while removing him from the courtroom, before arresting and placing him in the dock alongside his clients. On the same day, the court convicted him of “contempt of court” and sentenced him to nine months’ imprisonment at Kitalya prison. Amnesty International