Lawyer of Uganda opposition figure Besigye charged with treason-related offence

A former Ugandan mayor and lawyer representing detained opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who is on trial for treason, has himself been charged with a treason-related offence.

Erias Lukwago appeared before a magistrate's court in the capital Kampala looking visibly weak, local media reported, days after he was arrested at his home.

He denied the charges of failure to report treason and was remanded in prison until next week when his case will be heard.

His arrest on Monday sparked condemnation after Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the country's military chief and son of the president, boasted about it on social media.

Bobi Wine, a Ugandan opposition politician who fled the country fearing for his life after ​contesting the January presidential election, alleged that Lukwago had been arrested on Kainerugaba's orders as he was preparing to serve a court summons on the military chief.

"I call upon all of us to reject and resist this brazen impunity," he posted on X.

Lukwago's family went to court seeking an order compelling security officers, whom they accused of abducting him, to disclose his whereabouts and release him whether "dead or alive".

The family argued that Kainerugaba had claimed responsibility for Lukwago's seizure and boasted about mistreating him on social media.