Ssegona challenges DPP’s role in Katungi extradition proceedings

What the report says

Lawyers for former UPDF officer Michael Katungi Mpeirwe are contesting the role of Uganda’s Director of Public Prosecutions in his extradition case, according to Nile Post. The defence, led by veteran lawyer Medard Ssegona, told Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Kadasa that extradition is not a criminal prosecution and should not fall within the DPP’s constitutional mandate.

Ssegona argued that Katungi has not been charged with any offence in Uganda, and said there is no police investigation file or sanctioned criminal case to justify the DPP’s involvement. He told court that the proceedings should be treated as a separate legal process, known in law as sui generis, rather than as an ordinary criminal matter. The defence also challenged the use of a criminal case number and said the process was defective because no local charge had been brought.

To support that position, the lawyers cited court decisions from Kenya and the Philippines, which they said distinguish extradition from standard criminal prosecution. They also argued that the State cannot use extradition proceedings to bypass the usual criminal steps, including investigation and charging by police and prosecutors.

The challenge is part of Katungi’s wider effort to block extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on criminal allegations. The magistrate is handling both the extradition matter and an application to pause it pending a constitutional challenge. The court has already said the filing of a stay request does not automatically stop the case, and the substantive stay application is set for August 31, 2026.