Martha Karua’s Deportation Tests EAC Integration, Ssenyonyi Tells Regional MPs

Opposition Leader in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi has condemned the deportation of Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua from Uganda as “most regrettable,” warning that the incident undermines the spirit of East African Community (EAC) integration.

Addressing East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MPs and other stakeholders in Kampala, Ssenyonyi raised alarm over the denial of an East African citizen’s right to conduct business within the bloc.

Karua, who holds an EAC passport and a valid licence to practise law in Uganda, was denied entry at Entebbe International Airport, declared persona non grata, and subsequently deported. She had travelled to Uganda to attend a court case involving veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his political ally Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, in which she is the lead defence lawyer. “The recent incident where Kenya’s former Justice Minister Martha Karua was denied access into Uganda at the airport, declared persona non grata and then deported was most regrettable,” Ssenyonyi told EALA lawmakers.

Ssenyonyi noted that Karua was neither informed of the grounds for her deportation nor afforded an opportunity to contest the decision. “She holds an EAC passport, and a running license to practice law in Uganda. She was not given any reason as to why she was being deported, nor did she get a chance to challenge the decision declaring her persona non grata,” he said. He cautioned that such actions threaten to reverse the gains made in regional integration since the EAC’s establishment in 2000, when it started with three Partner States and has since expanded to eight, building institutions, a Customs Union and a Common Market.

“We should not take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps backwards,” Ssenyonyi warned, urging Partner States to uphold the principles underpinning the common market. The Nakawa West lawmaker stressed that Uganda’s borders remain the true test of the EAC’s integration agenda. “If a common market is where integration should be felt, our borders are where it is tested every single day,” he said, calling on regional governments to ensure that citizens like Karua are able to move and work freely across borders as envisioned by the treaty.