Karua attends Besigye court case in Uganda days after Tanzania entry denial
People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has successfully travelled to Uganda to attend opposition leader Kizza Besigye’s court case, just days after being denied entry into Tanzania.
Taking to her X account on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the opposition leader confirmed her presence in Uganda.
“In Uganda with Lynn Ngungi for Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale case. Our entry was without a hitch in the spirit of Jumuiya,” Karua wrote, referring to the East African Community’s spirit of regional integration.
On April 11, 2025, the High Court in Kampala denied Besigye and his aide Hajj Obeid Lutale, who are facing treason charges, bail, citing the grave nature of the charges against them and concerns that, given their influence, they may interfere with ongoing investigations.
Besigye’s lawyers are now seeking to have the veteran opposition leader’s second bail hearing heard and determined before May 22, 2025.
Entry denied
Karua’s successful entry into Uganda comes just three days after she, Lynn Ngungi and others were controversially denied entry into Tanzania, where they had intended to observe the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
During the Tanzania incident, Karua was detained at the Julius Nyerere International Airport for the better part of Sunday, May 18, 2025, before being sent back to Kenya on the next available flight.
In a media interview after she arrived in the country, Karua recounted that immigration officers at the airport held her passport and informed her that she would not be permitted entry into Tanzania.
She mentioned that the officials did not provide a clear explanation and instructed her to take the next available flight back to Nairobi.
“We were detained at the airport — not in handcuffs — but guarded by a police officer in civilian clothes. After about an hour, the immigration officer returned and said, ‘We will not be granted entry into Tanzania,’” she recalled.
According to Karua, the deportation violated the foundational principles of the East African Community (EAC), particularly freedom of movement and the rule of law.
“Deporting me and my colleagues means that the administration in Tanzania is using Jumuiya as personal property to fight petty battles. This reflects very poorly on the current state of regional cooperation,” she rallied.
Concerns about Kenya’s role
Karua accused President William Ruto’s administration of colluding with Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) to deny her entry.
“The Kenyan government has not issued any protest note on the treatment of three of its citizens. It smells of complicity between the Kenya Kwanza administration and the CCM administration in Tanzania. This is a great shame,” she stated.
She questioned the silence of the Kenyan government, claiming that the failure to issue a protest note signalled approval or complicity in her treatment.
“I think Kenya has through the action of its officials to cover itself not to appear complicit. But anything short of a formal request for explanation or protest means Kenya is complicit. I have no doubt in that,” she added.
She emphasised that she and her colleagues would not give up and pledged to seek redress through the East African Court, along with engaging in public advocacy.
“The silence of Kenya suggests that they’re complicit. But we will not just sit and wait for the authorities in Kenya. We will take action. That’s why there is the EAC court. We’ll also take action in the court of public opinion, speaking out,” she stressed.
