Besigye lawyer blocked from entering Uganda

Leading Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua has been blocked from entering Uganda and ordered to return home, according to the Uganda Law Society. Karua had just arrived at the Entebbe airport to join a team defending her Ugandan lawyer colleague Erias Lukwago, with whom they have been representing detained opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason, reports BBC News. Lukwago was himself charged with a treason-related offence last week, and his bail hearing had been due on Monday. A statement from Karua's office said she had been detained at the airport, adding that she was expected to return to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday but ‘remains incommunicado’. Ugandan authorities did not give a reason for blocking Karua, although Kenya's Law Society president Charles Kanjama, who had travelled with her, was allowed in. Kanjama said it was ‘of particular concern’ that Karua had been blocked, despite her travelling ‘for the same matter and in the same professional capacity’ as himself. Uganda's immigration authorities have not responded to a request for comment. The Law Society of Kenya on Monday expressed support for ‘members of the legal profession across East Africa who continue to uphold the cause of justice under often difficult circumstances’. It called on the relevant authorities to provide clarity on the circumstances that Karua had been denied entry to Uganda.