Besigye, Lutale sue Kenyan govt again over extradition to Uganda

Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and his political aide Obeid Lutale have sued the Kenyan government, challenging their arrest and extradition from Kenya to Uganda last November, describing the actions as “illegal” and “a violation of Kenya’s territorial integrity.”

The pair jointly filed the suit before Kenya’s High Court, seeking several declarations that their extradition “did not meet the strict requirements” of Kenya’s Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) Act Cap. 77.

In the suit, they allege that on the morning of November 16, 2024, they entered Kenya lawfully through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to attend a book launch at the invitation of Kenyan opposition politician Martha Karua.

However, they were “unlawfully, forcefully, and violently abducted within Kenyan territory by security agencies from the Republic of Uganda and driven back to Uganda in the cover of darkness.”

They say that “about eight men in civilian clothes armed with SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) introduced themselves to the petitioners (Dr Besigye and Hajj Lutale) as Kenyan Police and informed them that they were under arrest and immediately took them to a basement.”

The petitioners add that they were “bundled in one vehicle with four persons, including the driver, and the other persons occupied the other vehicles.”

The convoy drove to a fuel station, then proceeded directly to Malaba border post, where the petitioners realized the four men were Ugandans “after they heard them speak in the local dialect ‘Runyankore’.”

Upon arrival in Kampala, the pair say they were “detained incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks,” where they were denied fundamental rights.

They state they were “denied access to lawyers, medical assistance, detained within military barracks, in a place not gazetted for civilians, and were denied access to family members, nor were they informed of the reason for arrest.”

They face charges including possession of firearms and later treason in a civilian court.

“The government of Uganda is on record, stating that the arrest and extradition of the petitioners herein were conducted in concert with officials of the Government of Kenya,”

Adding: “Colonel Rafael Mugisha, the director of prosecutions at the army court, informed the Court Martial that the petitioners were arrested with the help of Kenyan Security Forces, under the direction of the 3rd and 4th respondents, despite there being no evidence of extradition to support the arrest and extradition.”

Further, Uganda’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, “informed Uganda’s National Broadcaster that the arrest was a coordinated effort between Kenya and Ugandan forces.”

The Ugandan Defence Forces spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye stated that there exists “a legal framework between Kenya and Uganda, under which framework the petitioners were arrested in Kenya and sent to Uganda without going through extradition processes.”

However, Kenya’s Principal Secretary, Korir Sing’oei, denied any Kenyan involvement. The petitioners contend that this denial “suggests that security personnel of the Republic of Uganda gained access to Kenyan territory and illegally conducted police work within the Kenyan territory, violating Kenya’s territorial integrity.”

The suit further argues that “the use of Uganda’s policemen to arrest Ugandan citizens in Kenya, being the petitioners, was done in the full knowledge of the 3rd and 4th Respondents, who are clothed with the necessary authority to ensure that only Kenyan security forces exercise police power within Kenya’s borders.”

They maintain the actions “have violated the rights enjoyed under Kenya’s Constitution and violated Kenya’s territorial integrity.”

Beyond declarations about sovereignty, the petitioners seek rulings that their arrest violated their constitutional rights under Kenyan law, and that the extradition failed to meet the “legal threshold” as stipulated by Kenyan extradition laws.

They are represented by Kenyan law firm James Njeri & Co. Advocates.

This case follows a similar lawsuit filed by Besigye and Lutale at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania, in December 2024.

There, Besigye claimed Kenyan security forces “aided the Ugandan security to carry out what he called the extraterritorial abduction,” violating provisions of Kenya’s constitution and the East African Treaty.

Dr Besigye is a former Ugandan presidential candidate and a long-time government critic, frequently detained on charges his supporters call politically motivated.

His deportation and continued detention have drawn criticism from regional observers concerned about respect for due process and sovereignty.