Flour on Water

Uganda’s Heartbreaking Circumstances – A Prophetic Call for Urgent Reforms

In Uganda today, a respected senior lawyer and former Lord Mayor can be dragged from his home in the dead of night, blindfolded by soldiers, and publicly threatened with “hurt and pain” by the son of the President, all for doing his job. The charge? “Misprision of treason”, carrying “life imprisonment”.

This is not justice. This is political persecution dressed in legal robes, the equivalent of sowing flour on water. It disperses uselessly, achieves nothing constructive, and leaves only a bitter residue.

Erias Lukwago (Ssalongo) is no ordinary advocate. Born in 1970 in Kalungu District, educated at Makerere University and the Law Development Centre, he built a distinguished career in constitutional and human rights law. As Kampala’s first elected Lord Mayor (2011–2026), he navigated impeachments, court battles, and political headwinds with resilience. His defence of opposition voices has long marked him as a principled fighter.

Lukwago now stands accused alongside his defence of Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid (Obed) Lutale Kamulegeya. Besigye, a retired colonel and former personal physician to President Museveni, broke ranks in 1999 and became a four-time presidential challenger. Abducted from Nairobi in November 2024 with his long-time aide Lutale and forcibly returned, he faces treason charges (alleged plotting to overthrow the government by force, punishable by death). Lutale, Besigye’s trusted personal assistant for over 20 years, shares the dock.

Lukwago and Kenyan human rights lawyer Martha Karua (later deported) sought fair trial conditions, client confidentiality, and accountability, including serving court papers related to alleged threats by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Chief of Defence Forces and President’s son).

On 15 June 2026, soldiers raided Lukwago’s home. Muhoozi publicly boasted on social media, posting images of a blindfolded Lukwago and declaring pride in the “hurt and pain” he would inflict. Lukwago was charged with misprision of treason for allegedly failing to report knowledge of treasonous plans between 2021 and late 2024 — information tied to his professional representation of clients.

Under Uganda’s Penal Code, misprision of treason (knowing of intended treason and failing to report promptly to authorities) carries life imprisonment. Applying it to a defence lawyer strikes at the heart of lawyer-client privilege and the right to counsel. Legal bodies, including the Uganda Law Society and Commonwealth Lawyers Association, have rightly condemned this as undermining the rule of law and fair trial rights.

If this can happen to a senior citizen, a former Lord Mayor, and a veteran advocate, what hope remains for ordinary Ugandans? We have crossed the red line repeatedly as the world watches, sometimes in silence.

International partners (including the UK and USA) continue signing pacts and maintaining engagements with Uganda, even as concerns persist over governance, human rights, resource distribution, and policies that appear to entrench elite capture rather than broad development. Deals on migration, trade, and aid proceed amid these domestic realities.

In a recent address, President Museveni addressed the Besigye case, justifying aspects like bail denial. The pattern of targeting defence teams (arrests, deportations) raises profound questions about whether genuine fair trials are possible.

This is flour on water; futile, wasteful persecution that yields no harvest, only deeper division and long-term damage.

This is a prophetic call to urgent reforms, otherwise we have taken a route we will not recover from. Nations we stood with at similar levels in the 1970s and 1980s have made enormous strides in governance, economic transformation, and human development. We lag behind, slipping back into colonial-era dynamics, this time as our own colonizers. Internal mismanagement, suppression of dissent, elite resource control, and erosion of institutions replicate the very extractive and authoritarian patterns we once fought against.

Uganda’s people deserve better: protected rights, independent judiciary, accountable leadership, and policies that deliver shared prosperity. The persecution of Lukwago, Besigye, Lutale, and others is self-defeating. It drives away talent, deters investment, and weakens the social fabric.

The flour has been sown on water long enough. Urgent, genuine reforms, protecting defenders of the law, ensuring fair trials, respecting constitutional rights, and prioritising inclusive development, are the only path to recovery and dignity.

Justice for Erias Lukwago. Justice for Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale. Justice for a Uganda that can still rise to its potential.

The situation remains fluid as of July 2026. This reality is evident in documented events, court records, and public reporting. This is a call for reflection and reform.

Read more about the Author here: Philip Kakungulu

References: 

1. BBC News – “Erias Lukwago: Uganda opposition figure Kizza Besigye’s lawyer charged with treason-linked offence” (June 18, 2026)  

[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9g3j4pe2no](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9g3j4pe2no)

2. Daily Monitor – “Lukwago charged, remanded over Dr Besigye treason case” (June 18, 2026)  

[https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/lukwago-charged-remanded-over-dr-besigye-treason-case-5499662](https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/lukwago-charged-remanded-over-dr-besigye-treason-case-5499662)

3. Reuters – Reports on the raid and charges (June 15–17, 2026)  

[https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandan-forces-arrest-lawyer-opposition-figure-facing-treason-charges-party-says-2026-06-15/](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandan-forces-arrest-lawyer-opposition-figure-facing-treason-charges-party-says-2026-06-15/)

4. Al Jazeera – Besigye bail and treason coverage 

[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/9/uganda-court-denies-bail-to-opposition-leader-kizza-besigye-in-treason-case](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/9/uganda-court-denies-bail-to-opposition-leader-kizza-besigye-in-treason-case)

5. Washington Post – Lukwago charging coverage (June 17, 2026)  

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/06/17/uganda-army-chief-kainerugaba-lukwago/d7c3c1f6-6a5d-11f1-830e-133d20cadd28_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/06/17/uganda-army-chief-kainerugaba-lukwago/d7c3c1f6-6a5d-11f1-830e-133d20cadd28_story.html)

Legal Bodies and Human Rights Statements

6. Commonwealth Lawyers Association statement (via Monitor)  

[https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/global-law-body-demands-protection-for-besigye-s-defense-lawyers-lukwago-karua-5510264](https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/global-law-body-demands-protection-for-besigye-s-defense-lawyers-lukwago-karua-5510264)

7. Amnesty International – On Martha Karua’s deportation (June 23, 2026)  [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/06/uganda-authorities-must-investigate-unlawful-detention-and-deportation-of-kenyan-human-rights-lawyer/](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/06/uganda-authorities-must-investigate-unlawful-detention-and-deportation-of-kenyan-human-rights-lawyer/)

8. New York City Bar Association – Condemnation of Lukwago’s arrest

[https://www.nycbar.org/press-releases/condemning-the-arbitrary-arrest-abduction-and-unlawful-detention-of-human-rights-lawyer-erias-lukwago/](https://www.nycbar.org/press-releases/condemning-the-arbitrary-arrest-abduction-and-unlawful-detention-of-human-rights-lawyer-erias-lukwago/)

Court and Official Records

9. East African Court of Justice – Reference No. 56 of 2024

[https://www.eacj.org/?cases=reference-no-56-of-2024-dr-kizza-besigye-3-others-v-attorney-general-of-the-republic-of-uganda-attorney-general-of-the-republic-of-kenya](https://www.eacj.org/?cases=reference-no-56-of-2024-dr-kizza-besigye-3-others-v-attorney-general-of-the-republic-of-uganda-attorney-general-of-the-republic-of-kenya)

10. Uganda Penal Code Act (Misprision of Treason) – ULII  [https://ulii.org/akn/ug/act/ord/1950/12/eng@2024-12-23](https://ulii.org/akn/ug/act/ord/1950/12/eng@2024-12-23)

11. Judiciary of Uganda Official Portal (for case updates)  

[https://judiciary.go.ug/](https://judiciary.go.ug/)

12. ChimpReports – “Lukwago Outlines Seven Conditions for Dr. Besigye’s Treason Trial to Proceed”** (and related coverage)  

[https://chimpreports.com/lukwago-outlines-seven-conditions-for-dr-besigyes-treason-trial-to-proceed/](https://chimpreports.com/lukwago-outlines-seven-conditions-for-dr-besigyes-treason-trial-to-proceed/)

13. Pulse Uganda – Besigye court updates and lawyer issues (e.g., refusal to drop lawyers, bail hearings)  

[https://www.pulse.ug/story/besigye-back-in-court-today-refuses-to-drop-lawyers-lukwago-karua-2026070305442042130](https://www.pulse.ug/story/besigye-back-in-court-today-refuses-to-drop-lawyers-lukwago-karua-2026070305442042130)