By Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has dismissed businessman and self-styled “envoy” Michael Katungi from his position as Commissioner for External Affairs in the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), after US prosecutors linked him to an alleged $58 million (about Shs200 billion) illegal arms deal with a powerful Mexican drug cartel.
Announcing the decision in a late-night post on X, Gen Muhoozi stated:
“I have decided to remove Michael Katungi as Commissioner External Affairs of PLU. He is also removed as a member of our Central Committee. From now on, only the Chairman will appoint the foreign committees of our movement.”
The decision follows criminal charges filed by the US Eastern District of Virginia, accusing Katungi of working with Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga to supply the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) with heavy weaponry, including machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, mines, and anti-aircraft systems. The cartel is designated by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization.
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According to court documents, the group allegedly forged arms control papers to conceal the weapons’ intended destination, conducting a test shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles using an End-User Certificate from Tanzania. Plans reportedly included the sale of surface-to-air missiles, drones, and ZU-23 anti-aircraft systems valued at over €53 million.
Mirchev has a history of arms dealings, including with notorious Russian trafficker Viktor Bout. While suspects in Spain, Morocco, and Ghana have been arrested, Katungi remains on the run.
His removal is the most high-profile shake-up in PLU since June 2024, when mobilisation chief Michael Mawanda was arrested over allegations of misappropriating more than Shs1 billion from war-loss compensation funds and conspiring to steal Shs3.4 billion. Mawanda, the Igara County East MP, is currently out on bail but retains his PLU position.
Political analysts view Muhoozi’s move as a strategic attempt to shield PLU’s image from the scandal. For Katungi, who once mingled comfortably within Uganda’s security and political elite, the dismissal amounts to a public exile — stripping him of political protection at a time when US authorities are seeking his arrest.
With the American case hanging over his head and the loss of powerful allies at home, Katungi now faces an uncertain and potentially perilous future.
