The lead counsel for Dr Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale, Martha Karua, has been denied entry into Uganda through Entebbe International Airport and ordered to return to Kenya.

The development was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by the Uganda Law Society (ULS).

According to ULS, Martha Karua was accompanied by Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Charles Kanjama alongside Kenyan Senior Counsel Kieme Gicheru.

“Hon. Martha Karua had arrived in the country to join the defence team representing her defence colleague, Erias Lukwago, in the case involving Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale,” ULS posted on X.

The Uganda Law Society further noted that “while the colleagues she travelled with were allowed entry into the country, Hon. Karua was denied entry and instructed to return to her home country.”

Karua serves as the lead counsel for veteran opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale, in the ongoing high-profile treason case.

According to the Daily Monitor, ULS Deputy President Anthony Asiimwe, who was at the Entebbe International Airport to welcome the regional delegation, confirmed that the immigration authorities provided no justification for the deportation.

“We came to receive the team from Kenya… but when we reached the airport, we were made to understand that only two members of the team were allowed. Senior Counsel Martha Karua was not allowed to enter the country and she is being deported,” Mr. Asiimwe said.

He added: “No reason was given for the denial of her entry. They just told her she can’t enter Uganda.”

Dr Kizza Besigye has been held in pre-trial detention at Luzira Maximum Security Prison since November 2024 after his alleged abduction in Nairobi and rendition to Uganda.