The Kenyan opposition leader and senior counsel Martha Karua has been banned from entering Uganda. The ban came into effect after she was denied entry at Entebbe International Airport and deported. The case has drawn a sharp reaction from the legal fraternity, with the East Africa Law Society saying it will sue the Ugandan authorities over the incident.
According to accounts of the events, what was supposed to be a short, day-long trip to neighbouring Uganda was cut short in dramatic fashion as soon as Karua arrived. On disembarking from her plane at Entebbe, she was stopped by immigration officers, denied entry and ultimately turned back.
Karua, who leads the People's Liberation Party, had not travelled to Uganda on a private visit. She was part of a delegation attending a bail hearing for the arrested advocate Erias Lukwago. The trip was therefore tied directly to legal proceedings on the other side of the border.
Lukwago, alongside Karua, works as part of the legal team for the Ugandan opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye. Karua had intended to join her co-counsel in connection with that case, making her exclusion from the country a matter that touches on the work of defence lawyers in the region.
Following the episode, Uganda declared Karua persona non grata. In response, the East Africa Law Society announced that it would take the Ugandan authorities to court, seeking clarity on the exact circumstances under which she was stopped and deported, and on the legal basis for the decision.
Speaking to journalists after her return to Nairobi, Karua questioned the state of regional integration. She asked whether the East African Community is a genuine community or merely a club of its leaders, pointing out that she holds an East African passport and challenging the idea that travelling within the bloc should be treated as an offence.
The incident has reignited debate about freedom of movement within the East African Community and about how member states treat politicians and lawyers from neighbouring countries. With the East Africa Law Society preparing legal action, attention now turns to how Uganda will justify the ban and whether it will be challenged successfully in court.