Rocket Launchers, Mines and 50 AK-47s for the CJNG: Ex-Ugandan Officer Michael Katungi, Extradited in an Alleged $58 Million Arms Plot, Appears in Federal Court in Alexandria, Virginia
Michael Katungi Mpweire, 45, a former Ugandan soldier and diplomat, made his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, after being extradited from Uganda. Prosecutors accuse him of conspiring to arm the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) with military weapons. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the appearance, according to UG Diplomat’s Oct. 9 report, republished by allAfrica. Ugandan outlets spell his surname “Mpeirwe.”
What prosecutors allege
He faces three charges: conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. designated the CJNG as one on Feb. 20, 2025, UG Diplomat noted.
Prosecutors allege that from at least September 2022, Katungi and three co-defendants from Bulgaria, Kenya and Tanzania sought to supply the CJNG with machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, night-vision equipment and anti-aircraft weapons. The release says the group arranged for 50 automatic AK-47 rifles to be exported from Bulgaria. The paperwork was an end-user certificate obtained from Tanzania that misrepresented the real recipient. Talks later expanded to surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones and a ZU-23 anti-aircraft system. Court records put the proposed package at about €53.7 million, or roughly $58 million, UG Diplomat reported. AFP put the value at about $54 million, according to News Central.
According to prosecutors, the defendants believed the CJNG would use the weapons to help traffic large shipments of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, Katungi faces a 10-year mandatory minimum and up to life in prison. The DEA’s Special Operations Division led the investigation.
The co-defendants
Bulgarian Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, who prosecutors say coordinated the arms deals, was arrested in Madrid on April 8, 2025, and extradited to the U.S. on March 19, 2026. His case is proceeding separately. Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga have pleaded guilty to cocaine conspiracy charges. They are due to be sentenced on Nov. 4, 2026, and Jan. 13, 2027, respectively.
A fight against extradition in Kampala
Katungi was arrested in Kampala on June 27, News Central reported. It described him as a former confidant of Uganda’s army chief, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The Observer reported on Sept. 1 that he is a former Patriotic League of Uganda official and African Union policy adviser. His lawyers argued, among other things, that he had diplomatic immunity. A Buganda Road chief magistrate rejected their objections and committed him for extradition. Katungi denies the allegations.
Bukedde TV’s June 29 report from his first court hearing in Kampala:
Sources
- UG Diplomat, via allAfrica: Ugandan National Katungi Appears in U.S. Court Over Alleged Cocaine and Arms Trafficking Plot (Oct. 9, 2026)
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia: Ugandan national extradited to the United States to face cocaine and firearms trafficking charges (Oct. 8, 2026)
- News Central (Deborah Akwa): Ugandan Army Chief Ally Extradited Over Weapons Plot (Sept. 13, 2026)
- The Observer (URN): Court clears way for extradition of former PLU official Michael Katungi (Sept. 1, 2026)
- Photo: Juliet Kigongo, via Daily Monitor. Video: Bukedde TV.
Reported Oct. 9, 2026, from the sources above. The Narco Blog has not independently confirmed these details. The charges are allegations; Katungi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Sources did not give the exact date he left Uganda or name the judge in Alexandria.