In brief
Erias Lukwago, a former Kampala mayor and lawyer for jailed opposition hero Kizza Besigye, was arrested at home and charged with a treason‑related offence. He appeared weak before a Kampala magistrate, denied any failure to report treason and was remanded for the next week. The arrest, which followed a boastful post by Army Chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba on social media, drew condemnation from opposition politicians such as Bobi Wine, who accused Kainerugaba of ordering the seizure. Lukwago’s family sought a court order to disclose his whereabouts, claiming security officers had abducted him. Besigye, long‑time rival of President Yoweri Museveni, has been detained on treason charges since his forced return to Uganda from Kenya in 2024.
Erias Lukwago faces treason‑related charge while defending Kizza Besigye
Erias Lukwago, a former mayor of Kampala and lawyer for jailed opposition leader Kizza Besigye, was seized at his home earlier this week and has been charged with an offence linked to treason.
Lukwago appeared before a Kampala magistrate’s court looking visibly weak, according to local media. He denied the accusation of failing to report treason and was remanded in prison until the case is heard next week.
The arrest sparked condemnation after Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s army chief and son of President Yoweri Museveni, boasted on social media that he had "unlawfully" seized Lukwago. In a series of posts, Kainerugaba showed photos that appeared to depict Lukwago blindfolded and threatened to inflict “hurt and pain” on him.
Bobi Wine, the opposition politician who fled the country after the January presidential election, claimed that Lukwago was taken by Kainerugaba while preparing to serve a court summons on the military chief.
Lukwago’s family filed a court petition demanding that security officers disclose his whereabouts, arguing that the army chief’s claim of responsibility and his social‑media bragging made the officers complicit in an alleged abduction.
Besigye, who served as Museveni’s personal doctor before breaking ranks with him in 1999, has been detained on treason charges since being abducted in neighbouring Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda in late 2024. He remains a long‑time political adversary and has been the subject of multiple detentions and trials.
For more context, see the full BBC coverage of the case at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2q5j71pqo.
