The Uganda Law Council has overturned its previous ruling and granted well-known Kenyan attorney Martha Karua a temporary practice certificate.
She can appear before the General Court Martial tomorrow on behalf of Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale, with this certificate. Besigye and Lutale are accused of illegally possessing rifles and ammunition after being kidnapped from Nairobi in November and forced back to Uganda.
Rights organizations have voiced their outrage over the way they were arrested and their rendition, which has brought the case to international attention. Karua’s application for a provisional practice certificate was denied by the Law Council last year on procedural grounds.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Uganda Law Society (ULS) were among the groups who strongly criticized this decision. The ULS president, Isaac Ssemakadde, denounced the council’s decision to reject Karua as “a blatant denial of justice.”
He maintained that it went against the ideas of openness and equitable representation. Ssemakadde emphasized the value of regional legal collaboration and promised to assist Karua in appealing the ruling.
After the refusal, the Law Society of Kenya threatened to advocate for reciprocal sanctions that would prevent Ugandan lawyers from practicing law in Kenya.
