Uganda charges opposition's lawyer with treason: lawful prosecution or silencing dissent?

Published Jun 20, 2026 · 15:00 GMT

Ugandan courts charged prominent opposition lawyer and People's Front for Freedom leader Erias Lukwago with misprision of treason on June 17, after soldiers scaled his home's perimeter wall to arrest him on orders of army chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Uganda's and Kenya's bar associations call it 'lawfare'; the government says the law applies to everyone.

The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.

Government / army

The army chief publicly stated Lukwago would face 'hurt and pain' and up to 10 years in jail — framing the charge of concealing treason as a legitimate legal consequence for an opposition lawyer who allegedly failed to report criminal acts, and insisting the rule of law applies equally to all citizens.

Bar associations / critics

Both the Uganda Law Society and Kenya's Law Society condemned the prosecution as 'politically motivated' and an abuse of the criminal justice system — calling it 'lawfare' designed to intimidate lawyers from defending opposition clients, after soldiers physically breached Lukwago's home to arrest him.

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