Ugandan in US court over cocaine and cartel arms plot
Michael Katungi Mpweire, extradited from Uganda, is accused with three others of offering weapons worth $58 million to a Mexican cartel. Two co-accused have pleaded guilty.
Alexandria, Virginia — A Ugandan man has appeared in a United States federal court accused of conspiring to traffic cocaine and to supply military weapons to a Mexican drug cartel, the Kampala outlet UG Diplomat reports.
Michael Katungi Mpweire, 45, appeared in Alexandria, Virginia, on 8 October after being extradited from Uganda. The allegations have not been tested at trial.
The charges
He faces three counts: conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. The United States gave the Jalisco New Generation Cartel that designation in February 2025.
The charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
What prosecutors allege
According to the report, the group arranged the export of 50 AK-47 rifles from Bulgaria using a fraudulent end-user certificate from Tanzania. A wider package they proposed was valued at €53.7 million, about $58 million, and included machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles and anti-aircraft weapons.
The conspiracy is said to date from at least September 2022.
The co-accused
Three other men are charged: a Bulgarian, Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, who was arrested in Madrid and extradited in March; a Kenyan, Elisha Odhiambo Asumo; and a Tanzanian, Subiro Osmund Mwapinga.
Asumo and Mwapinga have pleaded guilty to a cocaine conspiracy charge. They are due to be sentenced on 4 November and 13 January.
This report is based on reporting by UG Diplomat, published by AllAfrica.
