People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader and Senior Counsel Martha Karua has recounted incidents that took place in Uganda when she was denied entry.
Karua said she was subjected to prolonged delays and restricted movement at an airport in Uganda, describing hours of uncertainty, repeated questioning by immigration officers, and eventual confinement in an airport lounge under security watch.
The PLP leader had flown to Uganda alongside Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama to attend court proceedings linked to the bail application of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
She was, however, denied entry upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport and ordered to return to Kenya, in an incident that has since sparked criticism from political and legal leaders in the region.
Speaking during an interview at NTV on Tuesday, Karua said she was cleared through immigration upon arrival, but later informed that an internal alert flagged on her travel documents required further scrutiny by senior officials.
“I was cleared and entered, then waited at the baggage area for LSK President Charles Kanjama and lawyer Gicheru to be cleared,” she said, explaining that passengers were processed individually rather than as a group.
She said that while waiting, a security officer who had initially cleared her returned and informed her that a supervisor had flagged an alert that required her to be reviewed again.
According to Karua, the matter escalated through multiple levels of immigration supervision until she was eventually referred to a senior principal immigration officer.
“He asked them what the notes were saying, and they said ‘entry prohibited’. He told them to go and actualise that,” she recounted, adding that officers appeared uncertain on how to proceed after the directive.
Karua said she was then taken to an office where she was asked to fill out a form containing information she said was already available in her passport.
She declined, stating that she would not duplicate the information or undergo what she described as interrogation without legal counsel.
Karua alleged that during the process, there was a confrontation in which her phone was taken by an officer, and later, a second device was also confiscated while she attempted to communicate with others.
“At some point, my phone was snatched, and I asked what right they had to take my property,” she said.
Karua said she was later informed that she would be placed in a holding room, but objected, requesting instead to remain within the Kenya Airways lounge while arrangements were made for her travel.
She alleged that she remained in the lounge under the watch of security officers for several hours, during which she suspected her electronic devices had been accessed.
“I refused to take my phones back because I believed they had been interfered with,” she said, adding that she would pursue legal action over the incident.
Karua said that Kenya Airways staff intervened to facilitate her access to the lounge and later assisted in returning her passport at the boarding gate.
She also noted that airline personnel helped her contact her travel agent and family to confirm her safety and rearrange her travel plans.
