A prominent Ugandan opposition lawyer and former Kampala mayor, Erias Lukwago, appeared in a magistrate's court in the capital on Wednesday, charged with complicity in treason, days after being seized by security forces at his home. He denied the charges and was remanded in custody until next week, when a bail application — filed on medical grounds — is due to be heard. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment.
Lukwago had been representing Kizza Besigye, one of President Yoweri Museveni's most prominent long-standing rivals, who has been jailed on treason charges since being abducted in neighbouring Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda in late 2024. Besigye, who once served as Museveni's personal doctor before breaking with him in 1999, has run against the president in multiple elections and been detained numerous times. Prosecutors said Lukwago's case has now been joined with Besigye's, accusing him of failing to report a treason-related plot allegedly hatched in Kenya between 2021 and 2024. Lukwago pushed back sharply in court: "I am the one who has been counsel in that case. How could I be counsel in a case I am involved in?"
The arrest has provoked widespread outrage, in large part because of the conduct of General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the country's military chief and son of the president. Relatives of Lukwago said armed men jumped over the gate of his home early Monday and bundled him into a van. Kainerugaba then posted images on X appearing to show Lukwago blindfolded in an unknown location, writing to his 1.3 million followers: "I'm proud of ALL the hurt and pain I will inflict on the CRIMINAL LUKWAGO!" He later posted: "Lukwago will be in prison for a minimum of 10 years!" The general has a documented history of provocative posts about opposition figures, some of which have subsequently been deleted.
Opposition politician Bobi Wine, who left Uganda fearing for his safety after contesting January's presidential election, alleged that Lukwago had been arrested on Kainerugaba's orders precisely because he was preparing to serve a court summons on the general. Lukwago's family went to court seeking an order compelling security officers to disclose his whereabouts, demanding he be produced "dead or alive." Rights activist Agather Atuhaire said the government "not only breaks the law, commits atrocities like those, but also gloats over them."
The case has intensified concerns about the shrinking space for political opposition and legal advocacy in Uganda. Critics say the targeting of a defence lawyer — and the army chief's public taunting over his detention — marks a significant escalation in what they describe as a crackdown on dissent, striking at the foundations of legal representation for those who challenge the government.