The People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has delivered a sharp broadside directed at Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni’s government as detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and his former lawyer Erias Lukwago continue to face serious health concerns.
Karua made the remarks on Thursday, September 3, 2026, as concern over Besigye’s prolonged detention and deteriorating health continued to grow, directly asking Museveni what, exactly, he was so afraid of.
Rather than only repeating her calls for Besigye’s release, Karua focused on the wider treatment of those around him, including Lukwago, who has represented the veteran opposition politician in his treason case and who now has been languishing in prison, reportedly too frail to talk or walk.
“I have seen what this prolonged detention is doing to Dr Kizza Besigye,” Karua said in a post on X.
"I have watched him spend his life standing up for his country, while his freedom, his health and even his access to those standing with him have been increasingly restricted.”
Karua said Besigye’s ordeal had gone beyond his separation from his family and supporters.
“It has reached those standing beside him, his counsel, Erias Lukwago, who was abducted and later charged,” she said. “That is deeply painful to witness.”
Lukwago, a former Kampala Lord Mayor and one of Besigye’s lawyers, was arrested in June and later charged with misprision of treason. He has denied the allegations.
His arrest came as Besigye continued to face treason charges in Uganda.
Karua questioned why the government had made it difficult for Besigye to access lawyers of his choice while he remained in detention despite his worsening health.
“What is President Museveni and his government afraid of?” she asked. "If Dr Besigye’s case is just, why make it harder for him to have the lawyers of his choice and keep him behind bars while his health is failing, separated from his family and those fighting for his rights?”
Besigye, 70, has been in detention since November 2024 after he was abducted while in Kenya and later transferred to Uganda. His case has since become a major regional human rights issue.
His health deteriorated sharply after he collapsed during a court appearance in Kampala on July 29. He was taken to hospital before being returned to Luzira Prison.
His wife, Winnie Byanyima has repeatedly raised concerns about his condition and called for him to receive specialised treatment outside Uganda.
On August 28, Byanyima said Besigye had been moved from Luzira Prison to the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) after his condition deteriorated.
“After dark, Dr Kizza Besigye was moved from Luzira Prison to JCRC Hospital today. He is still very weak. He struggles to walk, speak, write or even hold anything steadily,” she said.
Uganda Prisons Service has since confirmed that Besigye and Lukwago were evacuated from Luzira for medical attention. Prison authorities said the two were stable and that the medical transfers followed a court order and recommendations from medical experts.
On Wednesday, September 2, a Ugandan High Court judge declined to order Besigye’s transfer to a health facility of his choice. The judge said prison authorities had not indicated that they could not manage his condition and ordered that his health be monitored for three weeks before the court considers further action.
Following his disappearance from Nairobi and subsequent prosecution in Uganda, Martha Karua became deeply involved in the legal defense of the Ugandan opposition figure, with her role expanding from legal advocacy into a regional human rights battle involving deportations, legal challenges, and international scrutiny.
On June 22, 2026, Karua flew to Uganda to observe the court proceedings and bail ruling for Erias Lukwago. Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, immigration officers revoked her clearance, confiscated her mobile phones and detained her incommunicado before forcibly deporting her back to Nairobi.
