Court commits Katungi to prison pending extradition to US
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Neumbe made the order in a ruling delivered on August 28, 2026, after dismissing all the preliminary objections Katungi had raised against the extradition proceedings.
Former UPDF solider, Michael Katungi Mpeirwe is wanted by the government of the United States to stand trial before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. (File photo)
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Court has committed former Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier Michael Katungi Mpeirwe to prison pending his extradition to the United States, where he is wanted to face trial on several charges.
The charges include cocaine trafficking, firearms offences and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Neumbe made the order in a ruling delivered on August 28, 2026, after dismissing all the preliminary objections Katungi had raised against the extradition proceedings.
Katungi is wanted by the government of the United States to stand trial before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The charges against Katungi include conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilogrammes or more of cocaine, contrary to Title 21 of the United States Code, Section 963.
He also faces a charge of conspiracy to possess firearms, including a machine gun and destructive device, in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, contrary to Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 924(o).
The third charge is conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, contrary to Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 2339B.
Court documents indicate that the organisation referred to in the third count is Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación.
Katungi was first produced before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's Court on June 29, 2026, pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued under Section 8 of the Extradition Act.
He objected to the extradition proceedings and, through his lawyers, raised several preliminary objections challenging the legality and procedure of the application.
The objections included a challenge to the authority of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to process the extradition request, the procedure used to commence the proceedings, the affidavit of Michael D. Stanton, Katungi's alleged diplomatic immunity and the participation of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
On the procedure used to commence the proceedings, the court found that the extradition application had been properly brought before it.
The court also rejected the argument that the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs had acted outside his powers by processing the request.
The court held that the Extradition Act, rather than the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, was the applicable law governing the extradition request.
The magistrate further ruled that the involvement of the Solicitor General in correspondence relating to the request did not render the proceedings illegal.
On the issue of diplomatic immunity, Katungi had argued that he was formerly a deputy head of mission and was therefore entitled to immunity.
The court rejected the objection, holding that diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, as applied in Uganda through the Diplomatic Privileges Act, applies to diplomatic agents in the receiving State to which they are accredited.
The court noted that Katungi's previous diplomatic posting was in Nigeria and found that the immunity did not apply to proceedings in Uganda or the extradition request by the United States.
The court also dealt with the affidavit of Stanton, which Katungi had challenged.
Stanton failed to appear for cross-examination, and the prosecution elected not to rely on him as a witness. On August 13, 2026, the court ordered that his affidavit be expunged from the record.
The magistrate said no further order was therefore required on that objection.
The court also rejected the challenge to the locus standi of the DPP to conduct the extradition proceedings.
The court, however, held that Section 10(1) of the Extradition Act requires the magistrate to hear an extradition case in the same manner and with the same jurisdiction and powers, as nearly as may be, as in the exercise of criminal jurisdiction.
The court therefore found that the DPP had the mandate to institute and conduct the proceedings on behalf of the Republic of Uganda.
On the merits of the extradition application, the court found that Katungi's identity had been established and that the United States warrant and extradition materials had been duly authenticated.
The court also found that the offences for which his extradition was sought were not political offences.
It further found that the requirement of dual criminality had been met in respect of all three charges, meaning the alleged conduct corresponds to offences under Ugandan law.
The court considered evidence from D/SSP Yona Kule of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, who testified about receiving and processing the extradition request in Uganda, tracing and arresting Katungi, verifying his identity and producing him before court.
Kule, however, told court during cross-examination that he did not participate in the investigation conducted in the United States and had no personal knowledge of whether Katungi had conspired to traffic narcotics, possess or supply firearms or provide support to an organisation.
The court said it would not rely on portions of his evidence concerning matters outside his personal knowledge.
It nevertheless found that the authenticated United States extradition request, indictment and warrant, together with Kule Yona's evidence concerning matters within his knowledge, met the threshold under Section 11(1) of the Extradition Act.
The court therefore committed Katungi to prison to await the Minister's order for his surrender to the United States.
His surrender is limited to the three charges contained in the extradition request.
The court ordered that Katungi should not, if surrendered, be detained or tried in the United States for any other offence committed before his surrender unless he is first returned to Uganda or given an opportunity to return to Uganda.