Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Neumbe Kidasa has adjourned the extradition case of the Former African Union Policy Adviser Michael Katungi Mpeirwe pending verification of a High Court order issued by Justice Simon Peter Kinobe staying the proceedings.
The magistrate had resumed hearing the case in which the United States is seeking Katungi’s extradition to face charges of drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearms and cocaine-related offences.
Katungi and his lawyers oppose the extradition request.
While the matter was before the Buganda Road Court, Katungi’s lawyers led by Macdusman Kabega showed up with an order from the High Court Civil Division Judge Kinobe showing that he had issued an interim order staying the proceedings and directed both parties to file the necessary court documents.
According to the order, the High Court ordered the prosecution to disclose all the evidence it intends to rely on, while Katungi must file his response and supporting evidence by July 27, 2026.
The parties will then exchange submissions before the High Court delivers its ruling on August 13, 2026.
The proceedings took place in Katungi’s absence after the court was informed that he was suffering from high blood pressure and dizziness, preventing prison authorities from producing him in court.
However, the prosecution, led by Chief State Attorney Adrine Asingwire, argued that no medical report from a qualified Luzira Prison doctor had been presented to confirm his illness.
Kabega, asked the court not to proceed, arguing that although the defence team had general instructions to represent their client, they had no specific instructions to continue in his absence.
He further submitted that criminal proceedings should not continue without the accused present.
Chief Magistrate Kidasa adjourned the matter to July 17, 2026, pending verification of the High Court order.
According to court records, the United States is seeking Katungi’s surrender to face charges contained in an indictment issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division.
Prosecutors allege that Katungi conspired with Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo and Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe the drugs would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
The indictment also accuses the four of conspiring to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, investigations indicate that from at least September 2022, the suspects conspired to supply military-grade weapons to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent transnational criminal organisations. The alleged weapons included machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, night-vision equipment, anti-aircraft weapons and surface-to-air missile systems.
U.S. authorities allege the suspects believed the weapons would be used to facilitate large-scale cocaine trafficking into the United States. On February 20, 2025, the CJNG was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224.Prosecutors further allege that Mirchev recruited Asumo to obtain a fraudulent End-User Certificate (EUC) from an African country to conceal the intended destination of the weapons.
Asumo allegedly recruited Katungi, who in turn recruited Mwapinga. The group is accused of obtaining an End-User Certificate from Tanzania authorising the importation of AK-47 rifles, which was allegedly used to export a test shipment of 50 AK-47 assault rifles, magazines and ammunition from Bulgaria with the intention of ultimately supplying the CJNG.
The indictment further alleges that the group planned to supply weapons worth approximately €53.7 million (about US$58 million), including anti-aircraft systems and drones, using falsified arms control documentation to disguise the true end-user.
Court records also indicate that Mirchev had previously been implicated in supplying arms to convicted international arms trafficker Viktor Bout.
Katungi , the former UPDF Officer previously served as Commissioner for External Affairs and a member of the Central Committee of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), the political organisation led by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
He was relieved of his duties last year after investigations into the matter commenced and was later arrested following the issuance of an arrest warrant.
Katungi has been in Luzira prison since June 29th 2026 when he was remanded by the Buganda Road Court a few days after it had issued a warrant of arrest against him following the extradition request by the United States of America Government-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
