The High Court in Nairobi has clipped the State’s bid for extra time in a petition by Ugandan opposition leader Col (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye, setting the Attorney General’s office on a tight 14-day deadline to respond.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Monday flatly rejected an application by State Counsel Marwa, who had pleaded for 21 days, citing delays in coordinating among government departments.
“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.
But his plea was met with sharp opposition from Senior Counsel Martha Karua, who is representing Besigye and his aide, Hajj Obeid Lutale.
“They were served in July. For a whole two months, they have not even entered an appearance,” Karua fired back.
“If they had done so and were seeking time, one would understand. But they have done nothing.”
Karua urged the court to resist what she termed “institutional complacency,” warning that the case carried weighty implications beyond the two petitioners.
“This is not just about Dr. Besigye. It is about the sanctity of Kenyan borders, the rule of law, and regional security,” she stressed.
The petition traces back to November 16, 2024, when Besigye and Lutale had travelled to Kenya for Karua’s book launch.
Court papers allege that the duo was later “violently abducted” in Nairobi by armed men claiming to be police officers.
“They bundled us into vehicles, stopped to fuel their car, and drove straight to Malaba,” Besigye recalls in his affidavit.
“At the border, we were handed to Ugandan authorities in the dead of night.”
Once across the border, the pair was allegedly detained incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks, denied access to lawyers, family, or medical help, before facing charges before Uganda’s General Court Martial, charges they insist were fabricated.
Adding fuel to the controversy, Uganda’s government has publicly claimed that the deportation was done in coordination with Kenyan authorities, a revelation now under judicial scrutiny.
In his ruling, Justice Mugambi said the State had already been accorded ample time.
“The respondents cannot sit on their hands for months and then expect unlimited indulgence from the court,” the judge ruled, ordering the AG to file all responses within 14 days.
