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Muhoozi claims he deported Martha Karua and banned her from Uganda
23rd June, 2026 04:26 PM
Ugandan military officer General Muhoozi Kainerugaba has claimed that he personally deported People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader and Senior Counsel Martha Karua and barred her from entering Uganda.
In a statement shared on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Muhoozi insisted that the decision should not be attributed to his father, President Yoweri Museveni, saying he acted independently in handling the matter.
“Do not blame my great father for this decision. I deported her myself. She’s no longer allowed in our country,” Muhoozi said.
Karua on deportation
Speaking about the ordeal, Karua condemned her incommunicado detention and denial of entry at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport, describing the incident as part of a growing pattern of political intimidation and shrinking democratic space in East Africa.
In a press statement on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, she demanded an urgent and transparent explanation from Ugandan authorities after she was held for hours, had her phones confiscated, and was denied entry without being given any legal justification.
“I am a holder of an East African passport, and I was in Uganda entirely in my legal capacity… they could not tell me what laws I had broken, because there were none,” Karua said, adding that the conduct amounted to “pure harassment and intimidation”.
Detention before deportation
According to the PLP leader, she was initially cleared by immigration officers upon arrival at Entebbe on Monday, June 22, 2026, but was later stopped, separated from colleagues, and directed to a senior supervisor before being informed of instructions to deny her entry.
“Upon arrival, the Senior Counsel was initially processed and cleared by immigration before being abruptly stopped and directed to a senior supervisor, as other colleagues she had travelled with were allowed entry to the country. She was later held by multiple officials and informed that instructions had been issued to deny her entry. Karua’s phones were confiscated, she was held incommunicado for hours, and no lawful explanation was provided,” the statement reads.
“I am a holder of an East African passport, and I was in Uganda entirely in my legal capacity to observe the case of my co-counsel, Mr. Lukwago. When they denied me entry, I was not initially afraid for my safety, until security officials forcibly seized both of my phones without explanation. They could not tell me what laws I had broken, because there were none. This bullish behavior by security agents was pure harassment and intimidation.”
Karua said the incident triggered swift concern from regional legal bodies, including the Law Society of Kenya, the East Africa Law Society, and Ugandan legal counterparts, who raised alarm over what they termed interference with the independence and mobility of legal professionals.
