Uganda: Ugandan National Katungi Appears in U.S. Court Over Alleged Cocaine and Arms Trafficking Plot

What the report says

Ugandan national Michael Katungi Mpweire, 45, made his initial appearance on October 8 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, after being extradited from Uganda to the United States, according to reporting from UG Diplomat carried by AllAfrica. U.S. prosecutors say he faces federal charges tied to an alleged international conspiracy involving cocaine trafficking and the provision of military-grade weapons to Mexican cartels, including the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG.

The case, as described in the indictment cited by the report, alleges that Katungi and three co-defendants from Bulgaria, Kenya and Tanzania worked together from at least September 2022 to arrange weapons supplies for cartel use. The reported weapons list included machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, night-vision gear and anti-aircraft equipment. Prosecutors also allege the group arranged a shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles from Bulgaria using an end-user certificate obtained from Tanzania that misidentified the recipient.

The article says the conspiracy later expanded to discussions about more advanced weapons, with a proposed package valued at about €53.7 million, or roughly US$58 million. The CJNG has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The report also notes that a Bulgarian co-defendant was extradited separately, while two other co-defendants from Kenya and Tanzania have pleaded guilty in related drug-trafficking charges.

The Justice Department said Ugandan authorities helped secure Katungi’s extradition. If convicted, he could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life imprisonment. The charges remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.