Former UPDF officer and former Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Commissioner for External Affairs, Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, has been arrested in a joint security operation and is expected to be extradited to the United States.
According to reliable sources, Katungi is currently being held at Kibuli CID headquarters as Ugandan authorities await travel arrangements from the U.S.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted Katungi over his alleged role in a $58 million international arms trafficking conspiracy involving the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a Mexican criminal organization. Court documents filed in the U.S. Eastern District of Virginia accuse him of conspiring to supply military-grade weapons, including machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, grenades, anti-personnel mines, night vision equipment, and anti-aircraft weapons.
Investigators also allege that the group used falsified arms control documents to conceal the weapons’ true destination, with a test shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles reportedly sent from Bulgaria.
Katungi is charged alongside Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga. Prosecutors further claim the conspiracy included plans to acquire surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and ZU-23 anti-aircraft weapon systems.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. earlier this year, making any alleged arms dealings with the group a serious criminal offense. If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and could receive a life sentence.
Reports also indicate that other Ugandan nationals, including Emma Ruhakana, are wanted by U.S. authorities in connection with the case.
Stay tuned for more updates as this developing story unfolds.
