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KAMPALA, Uganda – The abduction of Erias Lukwago, acting president of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) and defense lawyer for opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, has triggered not only outrage but a pointed legal dissection of the constitutional violations at play. Legal scholars and human rights advocates are now stating clearly: the intimidation, harassment, and obstruction of a lawyer in the discharge of professional duties is not merely an injustice—it is unconstitutional.
At the heart of the condemnation is Article 208(2) of the Constitution of Uganda, which explicitly provides that the army shall be subordinate to civilian authority. Legal experts argue that armed men in military uniform seizing a civilian lawyer from his home have no constitutional mandate to do so.
“The army has no role whatsoever in intimidating, arresting, or abducting members of the Bar for performing their constitutional duties,” said a senior legal commentator who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. “When soldiers become enforcers against lawyers, the constitution is not just bent—it is broken.”
Multiple Constitutional Violations Cited
Beyond Article 208(2), legal analysts have identified a cascade of constitutional breaches:
Article 20 – which guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms to all persons, including legal practitioners.
Article 40(2) – protecting the right to practice one’s profession freely.
Article 221 – which vests judicial power in the courts and demands respect for legal processes.
By abducting Lukwago before he could even dress for the day, security operatives effectively obstructed his ability to represent his client, Dr. Besigye, in an ongoing treason trial. That obstruction, lawyers argue, is a direct assault on the constitutional order itself.
International Law Also Violated
The condemnation is not limited to domestic law. Uganda is a signatory to multiple international instruments that protect the role of lawyers, and critics say those have been flagrantly disregarded:
UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers – Principle 16 (protection from intimidation), Principle 18 (immunity for professional duties), and Principle 23 (right to practice without hindrance).
IBA Standards on the Independence of the Legal Profession – which require that lawyers be able to carry out their functions freely and without fear of reprisal.
“It is not enough for Uganda to have these principles on paper,” said a representative of a regional legal watchdog. “When a lawyer is abducted in military-style operation for defending a client, those principles become dead letters. The international community must take notice.”
A Direct Assault on the Rule of Law
Perhaps the most chilling assessment comes from within Uganda’s own legal fraternity. The Uganda Law Society (ULS), which has already issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Lukwago’s release, framed the abduction as existential.
“An attack on one advocate is an attack on the entire Bar and on the rule of law itself,” a senior ULS official said during emergency deliberations. “If they can take Erias Lukwago from his bed for doing his job, no lawyer in this country is safe. And if no lawyer is safe, no citizen is safe.”
This sentiment echoes Principle 16 of the UN Basic Principles, which states that governments shall ensure that lawyers “are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.”
Call for Immediate Action
As the 24-hour ultimatum issued by the ULS ticks toward its deadline, pressure is mounting on the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has previously boasted about similar operations. The ULS has vowed domestic and international legal action against the CDF personally if Lukwago is not released.
Meanwhile, Lukwago’s family, colleagues, and clients wait in agony. His wife, Nalongo Zawedde, who witnessed the abduction, has made a simple but powerful appeal: “The constitution is not a piece of paper. It is a promise. My husband is a lawyer. He was doing his job. Bring him back.”
In a constitutional democracy, the lawyer is the citizen’s first line of defense against the state. When that line is breached by men in uniform, with no warrant, no charge, and no accountability, the message is unmistakable: the rule of law is under siege.
For now, Uganda waits. The constitution waits. And Erias Lukwago remains missing.
An attack on one is an attack on all. The question is whether anyone will stop the next attack before it comes.
Related
, https://hoimapost.co.ug/legal-experts-condemn-lukwagos-abduction-as-unconstitutional-assault-on-rule-of-law/
