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Martha Karua will head the legal team representing veteran Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye in a court martial hearing scheduled to start on December 2.

The former minister for justice and constitutional affairs leads over 50 lawyers from Uganda and Kenya who have been lined up to represent the four-time presidential contender in the case before the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala.

Besigye was arrested in Nairobi last week in controversial circumstances moments after he arrived to attend the launch of a book by Karua, drawing local and international ire and condemnation.

Karua takes over from Erias Lukwago, a prominent Ugandan lawyer. Lukwago also said legal action would be taken in the East African Court of Justice against both the Kenyan and Ugandan governments for their involvement in the abduction of Besigye.

“The Kenyan government will be sued for its alleged acquiescence in the enforced disappearance of Besigye, an act that is a violation of Kenya’s territorial integrity and a breach of its immigration laws,” Lukwago told journalists.

“Our legal team is pursuing action … after Kenyan authorities violated the law by allowing foreign forces to carry out a crime of such magnitude on the country’s soil.”

Lukwago accused officials of the Kenyan Immigration Department of being complicit in the abduction by failing to prevent it.

“The Kenyan government must account for these violations, as Kenya’s immigration laws were clearly violated,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan government faces its own legal challenge over the enforced disappearance of Besigye, with Lukwago noting that further legal actions were being prepared, declining to disclose the specifics.

“We will announce other legal measures at the appropriate time,” he explained.

Lukwago also clarified that Besigye will not submit to the General Court Martial.