KAMPALA, Uganda — A court in Uganda on Wednesday charged an attorney for a jailed opposition leader with concealing treason, escalating a dispute with the country’s army chief whom the lawyer sought to hold accountable for alleged abuses.
Erias Lukwago was charged before a magistrate’s court in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, days after he was seized and taken into custody on the orders of army chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Lukwago was charged with “misprision of treason,” a crime that the presiding magistrate said stems from his alleged failure to report acts of treason by others. He has denied the charges.
Lukwago, the president of the People’s Front for Freedom opposition group, is an attorney for Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate who is jailed over treason charges in a separate case that his supporters see as politically motivated. Lukwago, a former mayor of Kampala, is an outspoken critic of President Yoweri Museveni and his son Kainerugaba.
The manner of Lukwago’s arrest, by soldiers who scaled the perimeter wall protecting his house, shocked many and raised concerns about the expanding powers of Kainerugaba, who wrote on social platform X that Lukwago would suffer “hurt and pain” and could spend 10 years in jail. Kainerugaba is active on X, where he frequently attacks his perceived opponents.
Although Museveni was sworn in for a seventh consecutive term last month, Kainerugaba has since emerged as Uganda’s de facto leader. He asserts that he will succeed his father in the presidency, an increasingly likely possibility as his 81-year-old father relies heavily on his son’s military authority.
Kainerugaba appears to have retaliated against Lukwago, who told reporters before his arrest that he intended to hold the army chief accountable for his alleged role in the violation of Besigye’s rights — including his abduction in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, in November 2024 and his subsequent jailing without bail in Uganda. Kainerugaba has threatened to hang Besigye, accusing him of plotting to kill Museveni.
“This fool will learn the lesson he has been begging for,” Kainerugaba said on Monday, expressing anger on X over Lukwago’s attempt to present him with court papers. He later posted photos of a blindfolded Lukwago appearing to beg for mercy.
The Uganda Law Society demanded Lukwago’s immediate release, saying his arrest was contemptuous of court processes.
Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, has not said when he will retire. He has no rivals within the ruling party, the reason many believe the military will have a say in choosing his successor.
Kainerugaba’s associates describe him as a dedicated military officer who often eschews ostentatious displays of wealth. He attended military schools in the U.S. and Britain before taking charge of a presidential guard unit that has since been expanded into an elite group of special forces. His father named him the top military commander in 2024.
In addition to his military duties, he is the founder of a political activist group known as the Patriotic League of Uganda. Its members and well-wishers range from government ministers to businesspeople.
Kainerugaba said this week that even the parliamentary speaker and his deputy work for him as his group’s envoys to the legislature.
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