Written by Joyce Nzomo
A Nairobi High Court has declined a request by the Office of the Attorney General (AG) for 21 days to respond to a petition filed by Ugandan opposition leader Col (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-petitioner, Hajj Obeid Lutale, challenging their deportation from Kenya. Instead, Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Monday, September 29, 2025, granted the State 14 days to file its responses.
When the matter came up for compliance, State Counsel Marwa, representing the AG, admitted that no responses had been filed despite service.
He explained that the matter involved several state offices and that attempts to coordinate a joint response had been frustrated by unanswered letters. Marwa pleaded for more time, asking the court to grant him 21 days to complete the process.
“Your lordship, I am here to plead with the court to give me more time to be able to file my response to the petition. I would request the court to give me 21 days,” Marwa submitted.
However, the application was strongly opposed by Senior Counsel Martha Karua, who is representing Besigye.
She told the court that the AG’s office had already enjoyed undue delay, noting that the respondents were served on July 28 but had not even entered appearance by September 29 two months later.
“My lord, they were served in July. For a whole two months, they have not even entered an appearance. If they had done so and were seeking time, one would understand. But they have done nothing,” Karua argued.
She further urged the court, if inclined to extend time, to caution the State Law Office that it must follow the law and not expect special favours.
Karua emphasized the urgency of the matter, stressing that it carried implications not only for Besigye’s political struggles in Uganda but also for regional security and cross-border relations.
According to court filings, Besigye and Lutale had entered Kenya on November 16, 2024, to attend Karua’s book launch. The petitioners allege that they were later unlawfully and violently abducted within Kenyan territory by men who introduced themselves as Kenyan police officers.
Armed with submachine guns, the group bundled them into vehicles, fuelled their car at a petrol station, and drove them straight to the Malaba border post, from where they were handed over to Ugandan authorities under the cover of darkness.
The petition further claims that upon arrival in Kampala, the two were detained incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks, denied access to lawyers, family, or medical assistance, and charged before Uganda’s General Court Martial with possession of firearms allegedly while in Kenya offences the petitioners argue were fabricated.
The Government of Uganda has publicly stated that the arrest and extradition of the petitioners were conducted in collaboration with Kenyan officials, an assertion now at the centre of the Nairobi proceedings.
In declining the AG’s application for more time, Justice Mugambi ruled that the State had already had sufficient opportunity to respond. He directed the AG to file all responses within 14 days, setting the stage for a heated legal battle that is being closely watched for both its political and security implications across the region.
