Esther Milenge

Conference interpreter | Farmer| Strong believer in social justice | I represent no one, on X.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

Great article. Yes, "crucible" is a fitting allegory in this case.

[Charles Onyango-Obbo @cobbo3]

How Kenyan Lawyer Karua Became the EAC's Greatest Legal ‘Nuisance’ (But Senegal Welcomed Her)
THE outspoken Kenyan politician and lawyer, Martha Karua, is a heroic but rare African species: a fearless cross-border legal activist.
On 22 June 2026, the former Justice minister touched down at Entebbe International Airport, Uganda, carrying a temporary practising certificate to join the defence team of long‑suffering opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye. Instead of a courtroom, she walked into a state‑sponsored ambush.
Detained incommunicado at the airport, her phones seized, she was slapped with a sudden “red alert” and deported back to Nairobi under a vague persona non grata decree. Kampala’s rulers could not stomach her presence at the same time that they were prosecuting Besigye’s tortured lead counsel, Mayor Erias Lukwago, with whom she had stood side‑by‑side in earlier battles for the veteran opposition leader, until soldiers snatched him in the dead of night a few days ago.
Karua’s deportation was unusual and troubling. Uganda has long been touchy about hindering East Africans travelling freely, because President Yoweri Museveni likes to cast himself as a champion of regional and continental integration. Blocking her from entering the court would have been par for the course, but turning Karua away as a Kenyan at the airport marked a new low.
It was not her first brush with autocratic paranoia. Barely a year earlier, on 18 May 2025, she was intercepted at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. Her offence then was travelling to serve as an international trial observer for Chadema leader Tundu Lissu, who faced politically engineered treason charges designed to hobble his presidential bid. Tanzanian authorities promptly bundled her onto a flight back home.
Contrast this hostility with her reception in Dakar in May 2023. Karua flew across the continent to stand shoulder‑to‑shoulder with besieged Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko. There, the state allowed her to perform her solidarity mission without interference. The irony is sharp. Karua is not an ECOWAS citizen, yet they afforded her safe passage. It is within her own backyard, the East African Community, where paranoid sister states systematically shred her right to free movement.
Why does she carry this torch? To answer that, one must understand Kenya. She is the product of a fiercely independent legal civil society forged during the turbulent 1990s “Second Liberation” struggle against domestic autocracy. That crucible produced a breed of activist lawyers who view constitutionalism as an offensive weapon rather than a textbook theory.
In the process, she has become a lonely traveller. Few heavyweight lawyers tread this path. Nigeria’s formidable Femi Falana is her closest contemporary, having spent decades braving state hostility across West Africa and aggressively using the ECOWAS Court to litigate against tyrants in Gambia, Guinea, and Togo.
We see glimpses of this spirit, too, in another Nigerian, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, whose decades‑long strategic litigation has kept civic space breathing across sub‑regions. Zimbabwe’s Brian Kagoro also deserves mention, an outspoken champion of democratic transitions across borders despite repeated arbitrary detentions.
Karua might have been foiled, but in Africa, sometimes that is enough. Often, the most revolutionary act is simply showing up in solidarity with the tormented, even if you only reach the back of the courtroom, or make it only as far as the Immigration desk before being driven away.

[The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center @TheKingCenter]

The King Center remembers Ted Turner, a visionary environmentalist, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and humanitarian whose support was treasured by our founder, Coretta Scott King. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all who were touched by his life. #TedTurner #TheKingCenter #CorettaScottKing

[Larry Madowo @LarryMadowo]

I never met Ted Turner but I’m so grateful for his vision.

Thanks for creating CNN, a place where even random kids like me can tell stories for the world. RIP

[CNN Breaking News @cnnbrk]

Ted Turner, the billionaire media entrepreneur and philanthropist who launched the 24-hour cable TV news revolution when he founded CNN in 1980, has died. He was 87. https://t.co/61G2Kuh8Vz

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@drkasenene God's grace, mercy and compassion

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@Novine_Farm @nic8th What a sweet kid, and a very clean goat pen. True, the earlier they 'get in there', the better.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@SpireJim @DailyMonitor It shouldn't matter.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@MasabaDaniel @peace_p_ug Gracias. Voy a buscar estos libros.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@MasabaDaniel Muchas gracias, Señor Masaba. Es verdad! Pero creo que español es difícil. One of the difficulties I've encountered is the many exceptions to some grammatical 'rules'. How long did it take you to reach fluent conversational level?

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@Novine_Farm If Uganda isn't on the list, find out why. Nine out of 10, the reasons will inspire you to (further) boost your own farming business.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@Comrade_Otoa 😂🤣

[James Ole Kiyiapi @JamesOleKiyiapi]

You left an indelible mark Your Excellency - history remembers you favorably!

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@enockk256 😂

[Capt. Irene Koki Mutungi @ms_koki]

I had the honor of commanding the inaugural flight to London Gatwick last night, alongside Capt. Cathleen Kangethe. #Grateful #Girlsfly @KenyaAirways

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@patrickoyulu @KagutaMuseveni Indeed the war parties seem to have selective memory. Key fact: It's the Palestinians' home as well.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

Oops! I forgot to add that if someone took the initiative of importing and trading in tef, for making tef bread; I bet he or she would get some loyal customers.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@drkasenene There is another option for bread lovers, but it may depend on the flexibility of one's taste buds. Tef bread, made from Tef (only grown in Ethiopia) will do the trick. It's also very rich in iron.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@drkasenene Thank you very much for the warning.

[UBC UGANDA @ubctvuganda]

I completely disagree with President Museveni's decision to evict the Balaalo from the North. I believe he is treading on very dangerous political ground - @AndrewMwenda

#UBCBehindtheHeadlines

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@drkasenene There is another option for bread lovers, but it may depend on the flexibility of one's taste buds. Tef bread, made from Tef (only grown in Ethiopia) will do the trick. It's also very rich in iron.

[Esther Milenge @FahimaMilenge]

@SpireJim Very, very sorry. May he rest in peace.