Prominent Ugandan attorney and opposition leader Erias Lukwago was formally charged with a treason-related offense in a Kampala court this Wednesday.
Security forces detained the former capital mayor days prior, sparking sharp condemnation from human rights advocates and political allies.
Lukwago denied the charge of misprision of treason, which accuses him of deliberately failing to report an active treasonous plot.
The magistrate subsequently remanded him in custody, anchoring another high-profile legal professional into Uganda’s deepening institutional quagmire.
Lukwago represents detained opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who faces separate treason charges in a trial widely decried as entirely political.
He also manages Besigye’s lawsuit against military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba regarding explicit, repeated death threats published on social media.
Kainerugaba is the son of President Yoweri Museveni, whose contentious January election victory extended a four-decade authoritarian rule.
Exiled opposition leader Bobi Wine stated that armed soldiers intercepted Lukwago as he attempted to serve the military chief summons.
Following the arrest, the military leader boasted online, promising to inflict immense physical hurt and pain upon the defense attorney.
Defense lawyers revealed that Lukwago collapsed during his brief detention after guards forced him to complete grueling physical drills.
The silencing of legal counsel signals a chilling new era where the rule of law is actively supplanted by military authority.
