What started as a straightforward invitation for Uganda opposition politician Kizza Besigye to attend a book launch in Nairobi took a turn for the worse when he was abducted from apartment building, transported under unclear circumstances to Uganda and locked up in a military prison.
Dr Besigye, a longtime critic of Uganda president Yoweri Museveni, was in an upmarket suburb of Nairobi, Kenya, ready to attend the launch of Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua’s memoir when he was seized by people believed to be Uganda security agents.
The incident, which came against the background of abductions of government critics in Kenya, sparked a major online protest by both Kenyans and Ugandans.
In response, Ms Karua, a lawyer and the leader of Narc Kenya party, travelled to Kampala seeking to represent Dr Besigye during his court martial hearing.
Dr Besigye is facing three counts of possessing a gun and bullets, contrary to Uganda law prohibiting civilians from carrying arms.
Ms Karua’s bid was, however, thwarted on December 6, 2024, when the Uganda Law Council declined to issue her with a special practicing license, which would have allowed her, a Kenyan, to defend a suspect facing trial in Uganda.
The regulator argued that the application was rejected because it had a political agenda.
Following the rejection of the application, the East Africa Law Society, an association of lawyers from the regional bloc, sued Uganda’s Attorney-General, Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, at the East African Court of Justice. The case is still pending determination.
Ms Karua, who was Mr Raila Odinga’s running mate in the 2022 presidential election in Kenya, resubmitted her application on December 23, and on January 6, 2025, the regulator eventually relented and issued Ms Karua with the license, just a day to the hearing of Dr Besigye’s court martial.
“A welcome move,” Ms Karua said on her X handle. “Better late than never”.
The move means that Ms Karua, author of Against the Tide: My Journey on a Less Trodden Path, will be the lead counsel defending Dr Besigye and his co-accused, Mr Obeid Lutale when their case re-opens today, January 7.
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