Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has filed a case in Uganda’s High Court against the country’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, challenging her deportation from Uganda last month.
The case stems from Karua’s removal from Uganda on 22 June 2026, when she had travelled to represent veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, in ongoing court proceedings.
In an affidavit before the High Court, Karua says she held a valid Special Practising Certificate issued by Uganda’s Law Council, allowing her to appear before Ugandan courts. She argues that despite this authorisation, she was denied entry into the country.
The affidavit forms part of legal proceedings connected to the treason charges facing Besigye and Lutale, as well as a separate human rights application in which the two accuse Gen Muhoozi of orchestrating Karua’s deportation.
Besigye has also petitioned the court over alleged death threats he says were made against him by the army chief.
Karua says she has led the legal team representing Besigye and Lutale since November 2024.
According to her affidavit, High Court judge Emmanuel Baguma scheduled the human rights application for hearing on 30 June and ordered the respondents, including Gen Muhoozi, to submit their responses.
Karua says she travelled to Uganda on a Kenya Airways flight accompanied by two colleagues, one of whom was the president of the Law Society of Kenya, to attend proceedings involving her clients.
She says immigration officials at Entebbe International Airport initially stamped her passport before separating her from the rest of her delegation, who were allowed to enter Uganda, and escorting her to the office of the principal immigration officer.
Karua alleges that officials confiscated her two mobile phones without explanation before informing her that she would not be permitted to enter Uganda because of unspecified security concerns.
Although the phones were later returned, she says she refused to take them back because she feared confidential lawyer-client communications relating to her clients’ defence may have been accessed while the devices were in official custody.
According to the affidavit, immigration authorities later served Kenya Airways with a notice directing the airline to return her to Nairobi after declaring her a prohibited immigrant. The notice reportedly classified her as persona non grata under Uganda’s Citizenship and Immigration Control Act.
Karua argues that persona non grata is not recognised as a legal ground for refusing entry under the law. She says she was deported without being told the reasons for the decision or being given an opportunity to challenge it.
She also alleges that she was subjected to degrading treatment despite travelling on a valid East African Community passport and holding legal authorisation to practise in Uganda.
Karua says the challenges facing Besigye’s legal team escalated following the arrest and detention of fellow defence lawyer Erias Lukwago. She claims her deportation was part of a broader effort to weaken the defence team representing Besigye and Lutale.
As part of her evidence, Karua attached posts she attributes to Gen Muhoozi’s verified X account published on 23 June 2026.
One of the posts quoted in the affidavit reads: “Do not blame my great father for this decision. I deported her myself. She’s no longer allowed in our country.”
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The affidavit also reproduces other posts in which Gen Muhoozi allegedly wrote that Besigye “will not escape his just sentence” and that “we will hang him very soon.”
Karua argues that the posts amount to an admission that the army chief personally ordered her deportation, despite lacking constitutional authority over immigration matters.
She says Article 208 of Uganda’s Constitution places the Uganda People’s Defence Forces under civilian authority and does not give the Chief of Defence Forces powers to make immigration decisions.
Karua further argues that preventing her from entering Uganda has denied Besigye and Lutale access to legal counsel of their choice, undermining their constitutional right to a fair trial.
She is asking the High Court to intervene, saying failure to do so would threaten the independence of the legal profession, the applicants’ right to a fair hearing and the country’s constitutional order.
The application names Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the first respondent and Uganda’s Attorney General as the second respondent. Neither had filed a response at the time the affidavit became public.
Court records show that Besigye and Lutale were arrested in Nairobi in November 2024 during a book launch hosted by Karua.
Prosecutors allege the two travelled to Kenya to coordinate plans to overthrow the Ugandan government.
The prosecution further claims that several opposition politicians and activists, including Erias Lukwago, attended meetings outside Uganda where plans to remove the government were allegedly discussed.
According to court documents, some of those meetings were secretly recorded by an American national identified as Andrew Wilson, whom prosecutors describe as an informant who later worked with Ugandan security agencies.
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