Lawyer in high-profile Ugandan treason case charged with related offence

Uganda's military chief had boasted of "the hurt and pain" he would inflict on Erias Lukwago, who was arrested earlier this week. Erias Lukwago: Uganda opposition figure Kizza Besigye's lawyer charged with treason-linked offence Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Erias Lukwago, in a navy blue jacket and white shirt appears in the dock Lawyer in high-profile Ugandan treason case charged with related offence Erias Lukwago was arrested at his house earlier in the week A former Ugandan mayor and lawyer representing detained opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason, has himself been charged with a treason-related offence. Erias Lukwago appeared before a magistrate's court in the capital Kampala looking visibly weak, local media reported, days after he was arrested at his home. He denied the charges of failure to report treason and was remanded in prison until next week when his case will be heard. His arrest on Monday sparked condemnation after Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the country's military chief and son of the president, boasted about it on social media. Bobi Wine, a Ugandan opposition politician who fled the country fearing for his life after ​contesting the January presidential election, alleged that Lukwago had been arrested on Kainerugaba's orders as he was preparing to serve a court summons on the military chief. "I call upon all of us to reject and resist this brazen impunity," he posted on X. Lukwago's family went to court seeking an order compelling security officers, whom they accused of abducting him, to disclose his whereabouts and release him whether "dead or alive". The family argued that Kainerugaba had claimed responsibility for Lukwago's seizure and boasted about mistreating him on social media. On X, Kainerugaba shared photos appearing to be of Lukwago blindfolded in an unknown location. In another post he said: "I'm proud of all the hurt and pain I will inflict on the criminal Lukwago!" Kainerugaba has a history of controversial posts, some of which have later been deleted, and has boasted of abducting and torturing opposition figures in the past. Lukwago has been representing Besigye, who has been jailed on treason charges since being abducted in neighbouring Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda in late 2024. Besigye is a long-standing political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni. He once served as Museveni's personal doctor before breaking ranks with him in 1999. He has run against Museveni in several presidential elections and has been detained multiple times. Kizza Besigye seated on a chair in a clinic room. He is wearing a mask and a hospital gown in a Kampala medical facility Life of veteran Ugandan opposition leader in danger, wife says Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces in military jungle uniform Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba - the army chief who threatened to castrate Uganda's opposition leader President Yoweri Museveni, in a green beret and khaki uniform, surrounded by members of the Special Forces Command (SFC) in green camouflage fatigues. Two are wearing maroon berets and two in floppy hats are armed with automatic rifles. The 'shadow army' helping Uganda's long-serving president keep an iron grip on power A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News Africa Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Niger has been fighting a militant Islamist insurgency for a decade and in January suspected jihadists attacked the same airport. A cemetery at the epicentre of the outbreak is rapidly filling up, however large traditional funerals have been scrapped. Alvin Junior Mak explains the inspiration behind the stylish suits he designed for DR Congo's World Cup team. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said fighting in DR Congo was hampering efforts to stop spread Four people were also injured in the incident inside Murchison Falls National Park, officials say. They are thought to have caught the virus before the outbreak was identified, the Red Cross says. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are major importers of used garments from the West and China. Hundreds of cases are suspected in central Africa but experts fear the actual number may be much higher.