Senior Counsel Martha Karua has been forced to fly back to Nairobi after being detained, denied entry, and ordered deported by Ugandan immigration officials at Entebbe International Airport on Monday morning.

The People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader had traveled to Uganda to join the legal defense team representing Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and opposition icon Dr. Kizza Besigye, who are both facing treason-related charges.

Her team said the incident raises concerns about respect for the rule of law and democratic freedoms within the East African Community, noting that further details will be provided during the briefing.

Karua had been blocked from entering Uganda and ordered to return home, according to the Uganda Law Society. SC Karua had travelled to Uganda aboard a Kenya Airways flight alongside Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama to attend a court session related to the bail application of Ugandan opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye.

Karua had just arrived at Entebbe airport to join a team defending her Ugandan lawyer colleague, Erias Lukwago, with whom she has been representing detained opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason.

Lukwago was himself charged with a treason-related offence last week, and his bail hearing was due on Monday.

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 was blocked, despite her travelling “for the same matter and in the same professional capacity” as himself.

“It is difficult to understand why one member of a defence team should be admitted while another is turned away,” he said in a post on X, while calling on Ugandan authorities to explain their actions.