Besigye, his aide, sue Kenya govt over extradition to Uganda

Uganda’s opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, and his aide, Hajj Obeid Litale, have sued the Kenyan government, alleging illegal repatriation.

 In their case filed before the High Court, the two argue that Kenya’s security agencies violated the law and the extradition agreement between the two neighbouring countries by handing the two to Ugandan security agents.

Besigye and Obeid are facing charges surrounding the alleged possession of a gun in Nairobi before a Court Martial in Uganda.

However, in their case before the High Court in Kenya, their lawyer, James Njeri, argued on Thursday that the extradition agreement between Kenya and Uganda does not include a clause for possession of a firearm as one of the offences that either country can extradite.

Kenya and Uganda have an extradition treaty under Legal Notice 95 of 1996.

“ The unlawful repatriation of the Petitioners in the pretext of an extradition was conducted even though the charges of possession of firearms are not among the list under Schedule 1 of the Act listing the description of extradition offences. The Government of Uganda is on record, stating that the arrest and extradition of the petitioners herein were conducted in concert with officials of the Government of Kenya,” argued Njeri.

According to the lawyer, the two should have been subjected to the court process before being handed over to the Ugandan security agents.

Besigye and Obeid sued the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Defence Ministry CS Soipan Tuya, and Interior counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen. They also named Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Immigration Director General Evelyn Cheluget, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor and the officer in charge of the Malaba border post.

They also named the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) as an interested party.

 The court heard that Besigye and Obeid landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on the morning of November 16, 2024, were allowed in and went to a hotel in readiness to grace a book launch by People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua.

Nevertheless, their lawyer said they were unlawfully, forcefully and violently abducted within the Kenyan territory by the Ugandan security agents and driven back to Uganda in the cover of darkness.

According to him, his clients were allegedly abducted by men in three vehicles and were bundled into one, which had four persons, including the driver. He said that the four occupants were speaking Runyankore, a Ugandan dialect.

Before they were taken, he further said, eight men in civilian clothes but armed with heavy weapons introduced themselves as police officers from Kenya, and they informed them that they were under arrest.

“ Shortly before the abduction, about eight (8) men in civilian clothes armed with SMGs (Sub-Machine Guns) introduced themselves to the petitioners as Kenyan Police and informed them that they were under arrest and immediately took them to the basement of the apartment complex they were in,” the lawyer said.

He claimed that Besigye and Obeid, after exiting Kenya, were held incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks despite them being civilians.

“It is their case that they were denied the rights of an arrested persons, including being denied access to lawyers, medical assistance. Further, they were detained within military barracks, in a place not gazetted for civilians and were denied access to family members, nor were they informed of the reason for arrest,” he continued.

The lawyer stated that Colonel Rafael Mugisha, the director of prosecutions at the army court, informed the Court Martial that the two were arrested with the help of Kenyan Security Forces, allegedly under the direction of Murkomen and Kanja. He added that this was despite there being no evidence of extradition proceedings to support the arrest and extradition.

In addition, he said, Uganda’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, informed Uganda’s National Broadcaster (NBS) that the arrest was a coordinated effort between Kenyan and Ugandan forces.

Nevertheless, he argued that Kenya’s foreign ministry, through its principal secretary, Korir Sing’o, denied any involvement in the arrest and extradition.

He argued that Sing’oei had contradicted Mudavadi, who on May 20, 202,5, told a local television channel that the Kenyan government had co-operated with its Ugandan counterpart to send Besigye and Obeid back.

Njeri said that Sing’oei’s denial suggested that the Ugandan security agencies accessed Kenya illegally, carried out police work within the territory in breach of the territorial integrity under the supervision of the Water Ministry and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). 

At the same time, he pointed an accusing finger at Cheluget, whom he said Ugandan security agencies would not have come to Kenya, or his clients would not have crossed the border without her knowledge.

“ The actions of the Kenyan and Ugandan government against the Petitioners have violated the rights enjoyed under Kenya’s Constitution and violated Kenya’s territorial integrity,” argued Njeri.

In his supporting affidavit, Besigye said that he ought to have either been presented before the magistrate’s court in Kenya for extradition orders.

At the same time, he stated that he was charged in Uganda with alleged offences that are claimed to have happened in Kenya.

The retired army colonel said that he ought to have been charged before the  Kenyan courts if there was an offence he had committed on Kenyan soil.

Besigye denied having any weapon.

“It is clear that if I had the said firearms, the Kenyan police would have arrested me and charged me in a Court of Law. They did not do this as I did not have any firearms. It is now emerging that the Kenyan State was complicit in my abduction and extradition to Uganda, which was conducted without due process and in flagrant violation of the laws of the Republic of Kenya,” said Besigye.