Lawyer of Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye arrested at military court

One of the lawyers representing veteran Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye has been arrested at the General Court Martial, where he had gone to represent the four-time presidential contender and his aide, Obeid Lutale.

Mr Eron Kiiza was manhandled and arrested in the courtroom during a heated exchange with a soldier who attempted to block him from taking a seat where other defence lawyers were seated.

"Get out of my way I need to proceed.  I'm a lawyer.  Like it or not I have to go there (where other defence lawyers were seated in the courtroom)," a visibly infuriated Kiiza was heard telling the soldier before he was manhandled and shoved into the dock.
Moments later, he was picked and whisked away to unknown destination.

In his response to concerns raised by Ms Martha Karua who's the lead defence counsel for Dr Besigye, the court-martial chairperson, Brig Freeman Mugabe attributed Mr Kiiza's arrest to 'misconduct.'
"The way we're conducting ourselves in this court is not helping. We are here for justice. However, our conduct is to the disadvantage of the accused persons (Dr Besigye and Hajj Lutale)," Brig Mugabe said.

In rebuttal, senior counsel Karua argued that Mr Kiiza should not have been blocked from joining other defence lawyers on the bench.

"The absence of Eron Kiiza is a very fundamental issue. Eron Kizza is an advocate of the High Court. He shouldn't have been blocked from coming in. He was assaulted and taken. The way this court is handling this matter looks like it was intended to have him assaulted. We have been subjected to harassment and vigorous body checks and it's exhausting," Ms Karua said.

The former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president and Mr Lutale are facing charges related to security and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

They were controversially arrested in Nairobi, Kenya and returned to Kampala in November 2024.