Uganda Allows Martha Karua To Represent Kizza Besigye In Court

NARC-Kenya party leader Martha Karua on Monday, January 6 scored an important win after the Ugandan Law Council handed the politician-cum-lawyer a temporary practising certificate on Ugandan jurisdiction.

The council announced that Karua was granted the certificate after she replied through the Uganda Law Society. “The Law Council has granted a temporary practising certificate to Martha Karua following her reapplication through the Uganda Law Society as directed by our president Isaac Ssemakadde,” the council stated.

This is after the Law Council convened a special meeting on Monday, January 6, to reconsider her application after it was initially rejected on December 6, 2024.

This means that Karua can represent Uganda’s opposition leader Kizza Besigye in an ongoing case in the landlocked country’s Court Martial.

Martha Karua with Kizza Besigye during his trial on December 2, 2024. /WINNIE BYANYIMA

Following the granting of the practising certificate, Karua will be able to represent her clients on Ugandan territory in court effectively starting January 7, 2025. To practice in Uganda, Karua was required to lodge a formal application since she is from a different legal jurisdiction.

“Martha Karua will represent Kizza Besigye & Hajji Obeid Lutale at the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) General Court Martial tomorrow. Case closed, reprisals avoided. Thank you,” Uganda Law Society President Isaac Ssemakadde remarked.

According to Section 18 of the Advocates Act in Uganda, for a lawyer from a different jurisdiction to practice in the country, they must be from a Commonwealth country, apply for a temporary practising certificate, and be attached to a law firm in Uganda.

The Uganda Law Council had earlier blocked Karua from representing Besigye where she was expected to lead a 50-member legal team including representatives from the Pan-African Lawyers Union and the International Commission of Jurists.

The Council cited procedural grounds, the absence of notarised copies of her practising certificate, and a letter of good standing from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) among other documents as reasons to decline her application.

However, Karua then accused the Uganda Law Council of making unfounded attacks on her integrity and professionalism. “Your disparaging and personalized aspersions on my person and character, as well as the importation of extraneous matters, is regrettable and undermines the spirit of Jumuia,” she asserted on December 9, 2024.

Nonetheless, she resubmitted her application along with support from the Uganda Law Society for a temporary practising certificate on December 23, 2024.

On December 2, 2024, Karua opined that the case attracted many senior advocates in Kenya and the African continent who were willing to represent the Ugandan opposition lawyer.

Besigye and Lutale were allegedly abducted in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, where they were expected to attend the book launch of Karua. Besigye was driven by night to Uganda where he was charged with plotting to undermine national security and being in unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, which were all recovered in the Kenyan capital city.

According to the politician’s lawyer, his abduction from Kenya was aided by the Kenyan government, a move that drew criticism from the United States (US) and human rights activists.