Karua revealed that she could not represent her client because she had not obtained a special practising certificate
NARC-Kenya party leader, Martha Karua, on Monday, December 2 could not represent Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye Kifeefe in court, a matter which sparked concerns over the trial.
Speaking to the media, Karua revealed that she could not represent her client because she had not obtained a special practising certificate, something she was still working on getting from the Uganda Law Council before Tuesday, December 3.
“I have been able to speak with the Justice on the telephone because we did not find anybody in the office and he has assured me that I will be able to get an answer as early as tomorrow,” she stated.
“I have asked that the certificate be processed expeditiously because the case is going on today and I will not be able to address the court without that approval.”
Martha Karua with Kizza Besigye during his trial on December 2, 2024. /WINNIE BYANYIMA
Karua, a Senior Counsel, went on to reveal that even though she was allowed in the courtroom, she could not have an audience inside the court. “I am in the courtroom after a long wait but I have no right of the audience till the law council grants a special license,” Karua wrote on her X account.
The Uganda Law Council was expected to have a sitting urgently to address the matter after which an update on the matter will be issued on Tuesday.
The NARC party leader opined that the case has attracted many senior advocates in Kenya and the African continent who are willing to represent the Ugandan opposition lawyer.
“There are many other advocates from Kenya who are willing to come, some even more senior than me, and as far as Nigeria, our network of Pan African opposition leaders solidarity network of which Besigye is a member and I am the coordinator is going to pull lawyers from various parts of Africa to come and join us,” Karua said.
Karua is in Uganda to lead a team of 50 lawyers in defending former Presidential Candidate Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale in the court martial. Besigye and Lutale were allegedly abducted in Nairobi on November 16, where they were expected to attend the book launch of Karua.
He was driven by night to Uganda where he was charged with plotting to undermine national security and being in unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, which were all recovered in the Kenyan capital city.
According to the politician’s lawyer, his abduction from Kenya was aided by the Kenyan government, a move that has drawn criticism from the US and human rights activists.
Collage of Kizza Besigye and an aerial view of Nairobi CBD. /DAILY MONITOR.VIRAL TEA KE
