NAIROBI, Kenya — Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide, Hajj Obeid Lutale, have filed a lawsuit against the Kenyan government, alleging illegal repatriation.
In their case presented before the High Court, the two contend that Kenyan security agencies violated both national law and the extradition agreement between the two neighboring countries by handing them over to Ugandan security agents.
Dr Besigye and Obeid currently face charges in Uganda before a Court Martial, related to the alleged possession of a gun in Nairobi.
However, their lawyer, James Njeri, argued before the Kenyan High Court on Thursday that the extradition agreement between Kenya and Uganda does not list firearm possession as an extraditable offense.
Kenya and Uganda operate under an extradition treaty outlined in Legal Notice 95 of 1996.
“The unlawful repatriation of the Petitioners in the pretext of an extradition was conducted even though the charges of possession of firearms are not among the list under Schedule 1 of the Act listing the description of extradition offences. 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,” Njeri argued.
According to the lawyer, his clients should have been subjected to due court process in Kenya before being handed over to Ugandan security agents.
Dr Besigye and Obeid have named several Kenyan government entities and officials in their suit, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Defence Ministry CS Soipan Tuya, and Interior counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen.
Also named are Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Immigration Director General Evelyn Cheluget, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, and the officer in charge of the Malaba border post. The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has been listed as an interested party.
The court heard that Besigye and Obeid arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on the morning of November 16, 2024, were cleared for entry, and proceeded to a hotel in preparation for a book launch by People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua.
Nevertheless, their lawyer stated that they were “unlawfully, forcefully and violently abducted within the Kenyan territory by the Ugandan security agents and driven back to Uganda in the cover of darkness.”
He claimed that his clients were allegedly abducted by men in three vehicles and bundled into one, which had four occupants speaking Runyankore, a Ugandan dialect.
Before their abduction, Njeri stated that “about eight (8) men in civilian clothes armed with SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) introduced themselves to the petitioners as Kenyan Police and informed them that they were under arrest and immediately took them to the basement of the apartment complex they were in.”
He further claimed that Dr Besigye and Obeid, after exiting Kenya, were held incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks despite being civilians.
“It is their case that they were denied the rights of an arrested persons, including being denied access to lawyers, medical assistance. Further, they were 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,” Njeri continued.
The lawyer highlighted that Colonel Rafael Mugisha, the director of prosecutions at the army court, informed the Court Martial that Dr Besigye and Obeid were arrested with the assistance of Kenyan Security Forces, allegedly under the direction of Murkomen and Kanja.
Njeri added that this occurred despite a lack of evidence of any extradition proceedings to support the arrest and transfer.
Additionally, he noted that Uganda’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, informed Uganda’s National Broadcaster (NBS) that the arrest was a coordinated effort between Kenyan and Ugandan forces.
Conversely, Njeri argued that Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Principal Secretary, Korir Sing’oei, denied any involvement in the arrest and extradition. He contended that Sing’oei’s denial contradicted earlier statements by Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who, on May 20, 2025, reportedly told a local television channel that the Kenyan government had cooperated with its Ugandan counterpart in the repatriation of Besigye and Obeid.
Njeri asserted that Sing’oei’s denial implied that Ugandan security agencies illegally entered Kenya and conducted police operations within its territory, breaching territorial integrity under the purported supervision of the Water Ministry and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Simultaneously, he implicated Immigration Director General Evelyn Cheluget, suggesting that Ugandan security agencies would not have entered Kenya or his clients would not have crossed the border without her knowledge.
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“The actions of the Kenyan and Ugandan government against the Petitioners have violated the rights enjoyed under Kenya’s Constitution and violated Kenya’s territorial integrity,” Njeri concluded.
In his supporting affidavit, Dr Besigye stated that he should have been presented before a magistrate’s court in Kenya for extradition orders. He also noted that he was charged in Uganda with alleged offenses claimed to have occurred in Kenya.
The retired army colonel maintained that he should have been charged before Kenyan courts if he had committed any offense on Kenyan soil.
Dr Besigye denied possessing any weapon, asserting, “It is clear that if I had the said firearms, the Kenyan police would have arrested me and charged me in a Court of Law. They did not do this as I did not have any firearms. It is now emerging that the Kenyan State was complicit in my abduction and extradition to Uganda, which was conducted without due process and in flagrant violation of the laws of the Republic of Kenya.”
