A Ugandan is on a wanted list by the United States authorities on allegations of conspiracy to supply cocaine and military grade weapons to Mexican drug cartels.

The United States Attorney’s office indicted Lt (rtd) Michael Katungi Mpeirwe alongside Bulgarian national, Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and a Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga over the alleged crimes.

Lt Katungi is closely associated with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), a loose pressure group, with its fans pushing for the leadership of First Son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba after President Museveni.

The US authorities allege that Lt Katungi and others conspired to illegally supply the military-grade weaponry to Mexican drug cartels, and in particular, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent and prolific transnational criminal organisations since at least September 2022.

The indictment issued on July 30, 2025 states that all the suspects have been arrested and are awaiting extradition except Lt Katungi, who remains at large.

The indictment lists the weaponry to include machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, night vision equipment, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft weapons.

Alleged dealings

The offences attract a minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison on conviction in the US. The US alleges that Mirchev recruited the Kenyan, who in turn enrolled Lt Katungi, who then hired Mwapinga.

Mirchev reportedly obtained an End-User Certificate (EUC), which is a document acquired by a trader or buyer of military equipment or sensitive items that the products will only be used by the authorised recipient.

But the end-user, Tanzania, was false, which allowed Bulgaria to allow the export of 50 AK-47 rifles, but the guns were sent to a drug cartel in Mexico. “The defendants allegedly continued to conspire to supply drug cartels with even more weaponry, potentially including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the ZU-23 anti-aircraft weapon system.

Mirchev allegedly created a list of weaponry for the CJNG totalling approximately 53.7 million Euros (approximately $58 million).

Asumo, Mpeirwe, and Mwapinga allegedly agreed to again provide arms control documents designed to obscure that these weapons were intended for the CJNG,” the indictment reads.

“Mirchev was arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid on April 8 and is currently pending extradition to the United States. Asumo was arrested by Moroccan authorities in Casablanca on April 8 and is currently in extradition proceedings. Mwapinga was arrested by Ghanaian authorities in Accra on April 8 and was extradited to the United States on July 25. Mpeirwe remains at large,” the indictment reads.

Katungi dismisses allegations

Little is known about Lt Katungi, a retired officer of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). He has had a stint as diplomat with Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, Nigeria. But on January 18, 2023, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, using his official handle on microblogging site X, formerly twitter, appointed Lt Katungi as commissioner of External Affairs for MK Movement.

MK is a popular contraction and reference to Muhoozi Kainerugaba. But Lt Katungi, who was yesterday contacted for a comment for this story, tersely dismissed the US indictment as a malicious accusation.

“Ignore with contempt deserved, malicious accusations,” Lt Katungi replied in a WhatsApp message. Nevertheless, Lt Katungi last Thursday cancelled his planned visit to the US next month to meet a section of the Ugandans in the diaspora. It was not clear whether the indictment had any bearing on the timing of the cancellation.

“This is to notify all our members, especially the @Plugandaa US chapter, about the postponement of our September convention. Being an election year, we need to consolidate all our efforts on the re-election of our beloved CIC and @NRMOnline Chairman. We need all hands on deck,” Lt Katungi posted on his X account on August 7, 2025.

“It will take place mid-next year, 2026, in Michigan [USA] with the same organising committee under Griffin Kahakani and Team. More members will be brought on board and assigned. I thank you,” Lt Katungi added.

Mr David Kabanda, the PLU secretary general, and the MP for Kasambya County, described the indictment of his member as blackmail.

“Yes, PLU will investigate the source of the blackmail and the intention plus the sponsors,” Mr Kabanda said on August 10 when contacted about the matter.