How Gen. Katumba rescued Iryn Namubiru from Japan drug ordeal
Japanese authorities had found narcotic substances hidden among what Namubiru believed were ordinary items in a package she had agreed to carry from Uganda.
Ugandan singer Iryn Namubiru. File photo
When Ugandan singer Iryn Namubiru landed at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on May 3, 2013, she expected the usual excitement that comes with arriving in a foreign country for a concert. Instead, she was arrested.
Japanese authorities had found narcotic substances hidden among what Namubiru believed were ordinary items in a package she had agreed to carry from Uganda. What followed would become one of the most frightening episodes of the singer’s career.
Namubiru had travelled to Japan on a French passport and was initially detained by Japanese authorities. She reportedly told investigators that the parcel had been given to her by someone in Uganda who had relatives in Japan.
At the time, Namubiru's then-promoter, Balaam Barugahara, now Minister for Local Government, insisted that the singer had been set up. The person alleged to have orchestrated the scheme was promoter Kim Ueno Tumwesigye, who would later be arrested in Uganda.
Namubiru spent about three weeks in detention as Japanese authorities investigated the circumstances surrounding the drugs.
Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala. File photo
Behind the scenes, however, a Ugandan official was already working to ensure that the singer did not become another foreign national trapped in Japan's notoriously strict drug laws.
In a tribute to Gen. Katumba Wamala, retired AIGP Assan Kasingye recalled how the former Chief of Defence Forces, who retired on Monday after an illustrious 47-year- military career intervened in the case.
Kasingye, who was then Director of Interpol and head of the National Central Bureau (NCB) Interpol Uganda, said someone at his office initially advised that there was little point in getting involved because Namubiru was travelling on a French passport. Then came a phone call from Katumba Wamala.
According to Kasingye, Katumba had heard that Namubiru might have been unknowingly used to transport the drugs.
“Assan, I have heard that someone could have placed those drugs without her knowledge. If it is true, ignore those French connections. She is Ugandan and you know very well. Please do whatever you can to get her out of the mess,” Kasingye recalled Katumba telling him.
The intervention changed the course of the case.
Namubiru was eventually released by Japanese authorities and returned to Uganda.
For Kasingye, the episode remains a defining example of Katumba's leadership and willingness to intervene when the circumstances demanded it.
“It is you Gen. Wamala Katumba who delivered Iryn home,” Kasingye wrote on X . “If it wasn’t you and my trust in your judgment and privileged information you had at hand, I probably would have left the matter in the hands of the French Interpol.”
Namubiru never abandoned her claim of innocence. She maintained that she had no knowledge of the narcotics and had only agreed to carry the bag as a favour, believing it contained food and personal belongings.
In 2015, Namubiru returned to Japan, this time not as a performer under suspicion but as a key witness in the case against Kim Ueno Tumwesigye. Ueno was eventually convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
After testifying, Namubiru said she was relieved that her innocence had finally been established. “I have proved my innocence and I am happy justice has been served. I am happier and stronger than ever,” she said.