Former Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer Michael Katungi Mpeirwe has been extradited to the United States to face trial on charges of drug trafficking, firearms offences and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
Mpeirwe was picked up from Luzira Prison at about 6am on Saturday and handed over to US officials at the American Embassy, where he underwent a medical examination before being driven to Entebbe.
He was later placed on a chartered aircraft and flown to Virginia, United States, where he is expected to stand trial before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division.
The extradition followed an order by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, who in September 2026 signed the papers authorising Mpeirwe’s surrender to the US government.
The United States had requested his extradition on December 23, 2025, to face trial over three charges arising from an alleged international drug trafficking operation.
Mpeirwe is accused of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilogrammes or more of cocaine, knowing, intending or having reasonable cause to believe that the drugs would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
He is also charged with conspiracy to possess firearms, including a machine gun and destructive device, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The third charge alleges that Mpeirwe conspired to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
In a communication to John Alsup, the US Embassy’s point of contact and overseas criminal investigator, Mao said the extradition request had been formally transmitted to the Ugandan government through diplomatic channels.
He said the government considered the request under the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Uganda’s Extradition Act.
The minister said the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Buganda Road, Kampala, which handled the extradition proceedings, found that the legal requirements for Mpeirwe’s extradition had been satisfied.
In a ruling dated August 28, 2026, the court committed Mpeirwe to prison pending an order by the minister for his surrender to the United States.
Mao said Section 12(2) of the Extradition Act, Cap. 124, empowers the minister, after expiry of the applicable statutory period and subject to any court order, to issue a warrant directing that a fugitive criminal be surrendered to a person authorised to receive him on behalf of the requesting country.
“I, Norbert Mao, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of the Republic of Uganda, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me and pursuant to the decision and committal order of the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Buganda Road, Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, presently in lawful custody in Uganda, shall be surrendered to the Government of the United States of America to stand trial in respect of the specific offences for which his extradition was requested and authorised,” Mao said.
The minister directed the Commissioner General of Prisons, or an officer duly authorised by him, to release Mpeirwe and hand him over to a person authorised by the US government to receive him.
The authorised US representative was permitted to take Mpeirwe into custody and convey him from Uganda to the jurisdiction of the United States.
“The relevant Ugandan authorities shall facilitate the lawful transfer and surrender of Michael Katungi Mpeirwe to the duly authorised representative of the Government of the United States of America,” Mao said.
He added that the surrender would be conducted in accordance with Ugandan law, applicable extradition arrangements and any conditions governing the extradition.
Mpeirwe’s transfer to the US marks the conclusion of the extradition proceedings in Uganda, with the former UPDF officer now expected to face trial before the US court over the charges brought against him.
