Veteran journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo has weighed in on the recent deportation of Kenyan lawyer and former Justice Minister Martha Karua from Uganda, describing the incident as a troubling signal of shrinking civic space within the East African Community (EAC).
Karua was denied entry into Uganda on Monday after arriving at Entebbe International Airport, where she had intended to join the defence team of opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
Instead, she was detained, reportedly held incommunicado, and deported back to Nairobi under unclear circumstances.
In his analysis, Onyango-Obbo framed Karua as a rare figure in African politics — a cross-border legal activist willing to confront state power beyond her home country.
He argued that her deportation reflects a growing discomfort among regional governments with lawyers who challenge authority using constitutional and legal mechanisms.
“Karua represents a tradition of activist lawyering rooted in Kenya’s pro-democracy struggles of the 1990s,” Onyango-Obbo noted. “This tradition sees the law not just as a system of rules, but as an instrument for accountability.”
The journalist pointed out that Uganda’s actions marked a significant departure from its long-standing rhetoric on regional integration, often championed by President Yoweri Museveni.
Blocking a Kenyan citizen from entering the country, he argued, raises questions about the EAC’s commitment to free movement and legal cooperation.
Karua’s deportation also comes amid heightened political tensions in Uganda, particularly surrounding the prosecution of Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, a key ally of Besigye.
Onyango-Obbo suggested that her presence in the country may have been viewed as politically inconvenient at a sensitive time.
This is not the first time Karua has faced resistance in the region. In May 2025, she was similarly deported from Tanzania while attempting to observe legal proceedings involving opposition figure Tundu Lissu.
Onyango-Obbo contrasted these incidents with her experience in Senegal, where authorities allowed her to support opposition politician Ousmane Sonko without interference.
“The irony is striking,” he observed. “Karua finds more tolerance outside East Africa than within it.”
Onyango-Obbo further placed Karua within a broader network of African legal activists, comparing her to Nigerian lawyer Femi Falana and scholar Chidi Odinkalu, as well as Zimbabwean advocate Brian Kagoro.
These figures, he said, have consistently used legal systems to challenge authoritarian practices across borders.
He concluded that while Karua’s deportation may limit her immediate impact, it reinforces the symbolic power of cross-border solidarity in Africa’s legal and political struggles.
“In many cases,” Onyango-Obbo wrote, “the act of showing up — even if blocked at the airport — is itself a form of resistance.”