Kenyan Senior Counsel and People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has vowed to sue the government of Uganda after she was abruptly denied entry at Entebbe International Airport.
Ms Karua, a prominent legal figure who serves as the Secretary General of the East Africa Law Society and holds a license to practice law in Uganda, condemned the deportation as an unlawful, politically motivated violation of her fundamental right to free movement within the East African Community.
Upon her forced return to Nairobi aboard a Kenya Airways flight, Karua addressed journalists at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), detailing the unsettling security ordeal and announcing her intention to seek legal redress either within the Ugandan court system or through the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The incident unfolded on Monday morning when Karua arrived at Entebbe International Airport around 8:50 AM.
She was traveling alongside three colleagues, including the President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Charles Kanjama.
Karua serves as the lead counsel for veteran Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale in a high-profile, ongoing treason case, and she anticipated a routine entry into the country given her regional legal credentials.
Diplomatic clearance
According to Karua, the initial arrival procedures went smoothly: she completed the mandatory Ebola screening forms and successfully passed through the primary immigration desks.
While waiting for her colleagues in the baggage collection area, an immigration officer approached her, stating a “mistake” had been made because a red alert note had been flagged against her name.
Before being escorted to senior authorities, two immigration officers confiscated her mobile phones without her consent.
Karua was subsequently brought before the Principal Immigration Officer, who formally informed her that she was barred from entering Uganda due to unspecified “security concerns.”
When pressed for details or an explanation of what offense she had allegedly committed, the authorities refused to provide any answers.
Karua strongly links the sudden travel ban to her recent defense advocacy.
The previous week, she had received warnings of a potential travel restriction following her vocal condemnation of the arrest, detention, and alleged torture of senior Ugandan lawyer Erias Lukwago, a fellow member of Dr Besigye’s legal defense team.
Ms Karua clarified that her immediate mission to Uganda was specifically to check on Lukwago’s welfare ahead of his expected court appearance.
Karua noted that this is not her first clash with regional state machinery; last year, she was similarly deported from Tanzania while attempting to observe the trial of prominent Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
Though Ugandan immigration officials initially attempted to place Karua in a holding cell, she successfully negotiated to await her return flight inside the Kenya Airways lounge.
She remained under strict surveillance by immigration guards until she was escorted onto a flight back to Nairobi.
Karua warned that her heavy-handed expulsion raises profound concerns over the fairness and integrity of Dr Besigye’s upcoming trial, where she has served as lead counsel since January 2025.
Despite the state-enforced roadblock, the veteran lawyer insisted she will not be silenced, promising to aggressively challenge the legality of Uganda’s persona non grata declaration in international human rights courts.
