The news lands like a stone in still water. A lawyer, representing clients in a prominent Ugandan treason trial, has herself been arrested and charged with the very same crime. It is a legal manoeuvre that sends a chill through anyone who believes in the principle of a fair defence.
The defendant is now both advocate and accused, a paradox that strips bare the precarious state of legal protections in the country. For the British government, this is more than a distant diplomatic ripple. It is a direct challenge to the rule of law, a system they have long supported in Uganda via aid and training.
The Foreign Office has expressed concern, but what does that mean on the ground? For the legal community in Kampala, it is a warning. For ordinary Ugandans, it is another reminder that the scales of justice are weighted by power.
The human cost is not just a jailed lawyer, but a society where the shield of law becomes a weapon.
