Ministers, guards, fugitives face justice in a tumultuous week
The country’s courtrooms were busy last week, buzzing with stories that stretched from Kampala to Washington, from gold scams in Makindye to corruption scandals in Uganda’s biggest institutions.
At the center were cases that carried both international intrigue and raw political weight: an arms indictment that crossed continents, opposition figures facing new charges, and a former minister defending herself in one of the country’s most embarrassing corruption sagas.
THE KATUNGI INDICTMENT
The most dramatic development came not from a Ugandan courtroom but from across the Atlantic. In the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, accused of conspiring to supply weapons to Mexico’s deadly Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
According to court documents, Katungi allegedly joined forces with Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, a Bulgarian arms trafficker, Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, a Kenyan, and Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, a Tanzanian.
The group is accused of attempting to funnel machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, and even anti-aircraft weapons into cartel hands, to be used in exchange for cocaine shipments bound for the United States.
The plot, prosecutors say, relied on fraudulently obtaining End-User Certificates (EUCs) documents meant to certify the final recipient of military weapons. Mirchev allegedly enlisted Asumo, who brought in Katungi, who in turn recruited Mwapinga.
Together, they secured an EUC from Tanzania to authorize shipments of AK-47 rifles. Arrests followed swiftly in April: Mirchev was picked up in Madrid, Asumo in Casablanca, and Mwapinga in Accra before being extradited to the U.S. Katungi remains at large.
If convicted, each faces at least 10 years in prison, with the possibility of life.
NUP PETITIONS OVER MILITARY LAW
Back home, Uganda’s National Unity Platform (NUP) pressed ahead with a constitutional petition targeting the newly passed UPDF (Amendment) Act 2025.
The opposition party argues the law is unconstitutional, claiming it undermines judicial independence by giving military courts sweeping powers over civilian cases.
NUP lawyers named Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, speaker of parliament Anita Among, and Defence minister Jacob Oboth Oboth as respondents, accusing them of rushing the legislation through parliament in violation of both the Constitution and a recent Supreme court ruling.
The petition also criticizes provisions that allow military officers to serve as judges and prosecutors, appointments the party insists should be handled by independent institutions like the Judicial Service Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
NEW CHARGES FOR MUTWE, KIVUMBI
The pressure on NUP intensified further in Masaka, where two of party leader Robert Kyagulanyi’s close allies, Edward Ssebuufu (Eddie Mutwe) and Achileo Kivumbi, faced fresh military charges.
Already battling accusations of aggravated robbery, malicious damage, and assault from incidents in May last year, the duo, alongside colleagues Grace Wakabi (Smart-wa Bobi) and Gadhafi Mugumya, were unexpectedly transferred from Masaka High court to Kawempe Magistrates court under tight security. There, prosecutors unveiled new charges of unlawful military drilling.
NANDUTU IN COURT AGAIN
Meanwhile, former State Minister for Karamoja Affairs Agnes Nandutu was once again in the dock over the iron sheets scandal, a saga that has already scarred the government’s reputation.
Appearing before Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga, Nandutu denied requisitioning or distributing the 2,000 iron sheets meant for vulnerable communities in Karamoja.
She instead pointed the finger at fellow officials, including former minister Mary Goretti Kitutu, her assistant Joshua Abaho, and undersecretary Geoffrey Seremba. Nandutu admitted receiving iron sheets but insisted she thought they were for landslide victims in her constituency.
“I was never involved in procurement or allocation decisions,” she told the court.
GOLD SCAM: $70,000 VANISHES
Elsewhere in Kampala, the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s court heard a case that blended fraud, cross-border crime, and greed. Seven people, four Congolese nationals and three Ugandans, were arraigned over a gold scam worth $70,000 (Shs 260 million).
Investigators say the group tricked Nigerian businessman Mark Gbillah, promising him seven kilograms of gold through companies Legacy Refinery Limited and Emerod Agency Limited.
Neither company had any gold. The accused now face charges including fraud, illegal refining, and conspiracy to commit a felony. They were remanded until August 19. UCAA and MUBS
OFFICIALS IN THE DOCK
Finally, Uganda’s Anti-Corruption court pressed charges against senior officials at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Makerere University Business School (MUBS).
CAA human resource manager Jennifer Etit Okaka was charged with corruption, abuse of office, and causing financial loss after allegedly failing to update the payroll, costing the government Shs14 million. She was remanded to Luzira Prison.
At MUBS, prosecutors are pursuing former principal Professor Waswa Balunywa for allegedly hiring unqualified staff in 2023, decisions said to have drained public funds.
Former acting HR Director Jacqueline Namaganda was also charged with neglect of duty for facilitating the questionable appointments.
A WEEK THAT SPANNED WORLDS
From alleged arms trafficking that reached across continents to a petty but painful gold fraud in Kampala, Uganda’s courtrooms last week revealed the scale of the country’s legal battles, local and global, political and personal.
The proceedings highlighted both the fragility of Uganda’s justice system and its central role in defining accountability. Whether in the fate of an ex-minister, the future of opposition figures, or the pursuit of fugitives overseas, the week was a stark reminder: the courtroom remains one of the most contested arenas in Uganda’s struggle for truth and power.
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