Besigye Fumes Venom As Court Tells Him: ”Forget Lukwago & Karua, Try Other Lawyers”

By Swift Reporter

Opposition leader Kizza Besigye has told the High Court that he cannot receive a fair hearing after two of his key lawyers were forced out of his legal team, prompting the court to order him to appoint new counsel before his human rights case can proceed.

The development unfolded on Tuesday when High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma directed Besigye and his co-petitioner, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, to reconstitute their legal team following the absence of senior lawyers Erias Lukwago and Martha Karua.

Lukwago, who has been leading Besigye’s defence in Uganda, is currently under treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital after his arrest on charges of misprision of treason, while Karua was deported from Uganda last month after arriving to represent Besigye in court.

The ruling followed an application by Besigye’s legal team seeking a stay of proceedings in their human rights enforcement petition against Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Col Peter Ahimbisibwe, Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga and the Attorney General.

The defence argued that the petition could not proceed without the participation of Lukwago and Karua, whom they described as central to the case.

However, lawyers representing Gen Kainerugaba opposed the request, arguing there was no evidence that the two advocates were indispensable to the proceedings. They further contended that Besigye’s legal team comprises more than 50 lawyers and should therefore be able to continue with the matter.

Justice Baguma granted the application, temporarily halting the proceedings and giving Besigye and Lutale time to appoint replacement lawyers and file a rejoinder to responses already submitted by the respondents.

But before court adjourned, Besigye personally addressed the judge, insisting that replacing his lawyers would not resolve what he described as a broader attack on his right to legal representation.

“We did not have lawyers in the process leading up to today. The respondents have not been served up to today. Therefore they could not have responded and that’s because of what has been going on. Our lawyers are on the run. You are now advising us to assemble others who are also on the run because the person terrorising them is the accused,” Besigye told the court.

He argued that the prevailing circumstances made it impossible for him to secure independent legal representation.

“This is why it is fundamentally important that if there is to be justice in this court, the whole question of how we are to be represented should be addressed before this very application can be heard. Who is going to make the submissions that you are ordering when everyone is on the run,” he added.

The petition arises from allegations by Besigye and Lutale that Gen Kainerugaba and other state officials violated their constitutional rights during their arrest, detention and treatment while in custody. They are seeking declarations that their rights were infringed, as well as appropriate legal remedies.

The case has drawn regional attention following Karua’s deportation from Uganda on June 22, 2026. The Kenyan Senior Counsel had travelled to Kampala to join Besigye’s defence team but was denied entry at Entebbe International Airport and returned to Kenya. She later alleged that immigration officials confiscated her mobile phones during the incident.

Lukwago, meanwhile, was arrested on June 15, 2026, shortly before he was due to serve court documents on Gen Kainerugaba in a separate case relating to alleged threats against Besigye. He remains in custody and is undergoing specialised medical treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital after the court ordered prison authorities to facilitate his care.