Retired UPDF Lieutenant Katungi Michael Mpeirwe is a step closer to facing trial in the United States after the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court approved his extradition over an alleged multi-million-dollar international arms trafficking conspiracy.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, August 28, 2026, Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Neumbe found that the legal requirements for extradition under Uganda’s Extradition Act had been satisfied.
The court ruled that the principle of dual criminality had been met and that US authorities had provided sufficient authenticated evidence to support their request.
Katungi had challenged the extradition on several grounds, including claims of diplomatic immunity and questions surrounding the authority of the prosecution. The court, however, dismissed his objections.
The retired army officer, who is also associated with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) and has links to the African Union, was arrested in June 2026.
US authorities accuse Katungi of participating in a conspiracy to supply approximately $54 million worth of weapons to criminal gangs and drug cartels, including Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
According to the US indictment, Katungi allegedly worked with Bulgarian arms trafficker Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, as well as Kenyan and Tanzanian nationals, in a scheme to move weapons from Bulgaria through Tanzania before they were allegedly supplied to drug cartels.
The alleged arsenal included machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, night-vision equipment, anti-personnel mines and anti-aircraft weapons.
Katungi will remain in custody pending a surrender order from the responsible Minister, meaning the extradition process is not yet complete.
In its determination, the Court found that Rtd Lt. Katungi Michael Mpeirwe had been properly identified, that the offences were not of a political character, and that the requirement of dual criminality had been satisfied. The Court further found that the alleged conduct…
— ODPPUGANDA (@ODPPUGANDA) August 28, 2026
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