By Johannah Nantongo
KAMPALA.A Ugandan court has ordered the extradition of retired Lt Michael Katungi Mpeirwe to the United States to face drug trafficking, firearms and terrorism-related charges, rejecting objections that included claims of diplomatic immunity and procedural irregularities.
Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ritah Kidasa Neumbe on Friday, August 28, ruled that the extradition request met the requirements of Uganda’s Extradition Act and committed Katungi to prison pending a ministerial order for his surrender.
The decision marks a major turn in a case that has drawn scrutiny over the circumstances of Katungi’s arrest and the legal basis for surrendering a Ugandan citizen to the US.
Katungi is wanted to stand trial before the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on three counts: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least five kilogrammes of cocaine; conspiracy to possess firearms, including a machine gun and destructive device, in furtherance of drug trafficking; and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
US authorities identify the organisation as Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG, a Mexico-based criminal organisation designated by Washington as a foreign terrorist organisation.
The allegations have not been tested at a criminal trial, and Friday’s ruling does not amount to a finding that Katungi committed the offences.
Extradition proceedings determine whether the legal threshold for surrender has been met rather than the guilt or innocence of the person sought.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by Chief State Attorney Adrine Asingwire, argued that the American request “satisfied Uganda’s statutory requirements.”
The court agreed, finding that Katungi had been properly identified, that the “alleged offences were not political in character” and that the dual-criminality requirement had been met because the alleged conduct would also constitute offences under Ugandan law.
Katungi’s lawyers had mounted several challenges to the proceedings, including questioning the procedure used to initiate the extradition application and the authority of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Solicitor General to process the American request.
They also argued that the DPP lacked standing to conduct the proceedings and that Katungi enjoyed diplomatic immunity because of his status as a diplomat at the time of the alleged conduct.
On diplomatic immunity, the magistrate held that “such protection applies in the state to which a diplomat is accredited and does not provide blanket immunity from proceedings in Uganda or third countries.”
The court also held that Article 120 of Uganda’s Constitution gives the DPP “authority to institute and conduct proceedings on behalf of the state.”
One element of the prosecution case was, however, removed from the record.
An affidavit by Michael D. Stanton, which had been filed in support of the extradition request, was expunged after Stanton failed to appear for cross-examination.
The magistrate nevertheless found that the remaining evidence, including an affidavit from D/SSP Kule Yona and authenticated documents supplied by US authorities, was sufficient to satisfy the threshold required for committal.
The court also rejected an argument based on the absence of a Ugandan police file, reasoning that the alleged offences occurred outside Uganda and the extradition request was supported by authenticated material supplied by American authorities.
Friday’s ruling comes weeks after Katungi failed in an attempt to have the High Court intervene before completion of the extradition hearing.
Justice Simon Peter M. Kinobe on August 3 dismissed Katungi’s revision application as premature after his lawyers sought to overturn the Chief Magistrate’s handling of preliminary objections.
Katungi had challenged, among other issues, the supporting affidavits, the procedure used to commence proceedings, his claimed diplomatic immunity and compliance with the speciality doctrine.
Kinobe held that most of those questions had not yet been finally determined by the magistrate and therefore were not ripe for revision.
The High Court lifted the stay on the extradition proceedings and returned the file to Buganda Road for the case to proceed.
The Chief Magistrate has now ruled on the substantive extradition application.
Under Friday’s order, Katungi will remain in prison pending the next steps toward surrender to the United States.
The court directed that any extradition must comply with the principle of speciality, meaning US authorities would be restricted to prosecuting Katungi for the offences covered by the extradition request.
Katungi retains the right to challenge the committal under Uganda’s extradition laws before he can ultimately be surrendered to US authorities.