Ugandan Lawyer Facing Treason Charges Amid Political Crackdown

Thu Jun 18 2026 13:03:08 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Erias Lukwago, lawyer for opposition leader Kizza Besigye, has been arrested and charged with treason, sparking backlash amid Uganda’s political repression.

Former mayor and attorney Erias Lukwago has been charged with a treason‑related offence after his arrest in Kampala, stirring political controversy. The incident followed comments by military chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who boasted about the arrest on social media. Opposition figure Bobi Wine alleges that Lukwago was detained by choice of the army chief while preparing to serve a court summons. Lukwago’s family seeks a court order to release him and the whereabouts of security officers involved. Lukwago has defended the detained opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has faced treason charges and a history of political tension with President Museveni.

Erias Lukwago, former mayor of Kampala and lawyer for opposition leader Kizza Besigye, was arrested and charged with a treason‑related offence on Monday, according to local media.

Lukwago appeared in Kampala's Magistrate's Court looking weak, after his home arrest, and denied the charges of failing to report treason. He was remanded until next week's hearing.

The arrest fuelled condemnation when Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the military chief and president's son, bragged about it on X. His posts show photographs of Lukwago supposedly blindfolded, and he threatened violence.

Bobi Wine, in exile, claimed Lukwago was detained at Kainerugaba’s behest while he was due to serve a court summons for the army chief. The lawyer's family asked a court to disclose the officers' whereabouts and release Lukwago, dead or alive.

Lukwago has represented Besigye, who faces treason charges after being kidnapped in Kenya and returned to Uganda in late 2024. Besigye, long a rival of President Museveni, was once the president's personal doctor before breaking ranks in 1999.