The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has cleared the way for former UPDF soldier Michael Katungi Mpeirwe to be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on charges related to drug trafficking, illegal firearms and supporting a Mexican drug cartel.
Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Neumbe dismissed all the objections raised by Katungi and ruled that the Ugandan government had met the legal requirements for his extradition.
Katungi has been sent to Luzira Prison pending a decision by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on whether he will be handed over to the US authorities.
Katungi is wanted by a US court in Virginia on three charges.
He is accused of conspiring to traffic at least five kilogrammes of cocaine, possessing firearms for use in drug trafficking and providing support to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, a Mexican organisation designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation.
US prosecutors also accuse Katungi and his alleged accomplices of planning to supply the cartel with military weapons, including rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles and anti-aircraft weapons.
The prosecution alleges that the group used fake documents to hide the intended destination of the weapons. It says they arranged a test shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles, magazines and ammunition from Bulgaria and planned to supply weapons worth about 53.7 million euros.
Katungi was arrested and brought before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court on June 29, 2026, after the US government requested his extradition.
His lawyers challenged the extradition on several grounds. They questioned the way the case was started, the authority of government officials handling the request, the evidence submitted by the US and Katungi’s claim to diplomatic immunity.
However, the court rejected the objections.
The magistrate ruled that Katungi could not claim diplomatic immunity because the protection applies to diplomats in the country where they are accredited. The court found that Uganda was not the receiving country in his case.
The court also ruled that the Director of Public Prosecutions was legally authorised to conduct the extradition proceedings.
It further found that the US indictment, arrest warrant and other documents had been properly authenticated and could be used to support the extradition request.
The magistrate also found that the alleged offences are crimes under Ugandan law, meeting the requirement of dual criminality.
Katungi will therefore remain in Luzira Prison as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs considers the US request for his surrender.
