Asan Kasingye: How Gen Wamala helped Iryn Namubiru in Japan drug trafficking case

• Kasingye says Wamala urged him to pursue Iryn Namubiru’s case despite her French passport.

• Namubiru had been arrested in Japan in 2013 over narcotics found in luggage linked to her.

• Kasingye also credits Wamala with mentoring him and supporting his rise through the police ranks.

• Wamala says helping groom and inspire others made his 47 years of service worthwhile.

Former Assistant Inspector General of Police Asan Kasingye has credited Minister of Public Service Gen Edward Katumba Wamala with helping singer Iryn Namubiru secure her release from Japan after her 2013 arrest on suspicion of carrying drugs.

Kasingye made the revelation in a tribute to Wamala, who completed 47 years of military service on July 31, 2026. He described the former army commander and police chief as a mentor who also shaped his career in the Uganda Police Force.

Namubiru was arrested at Narita International Airport in Japan on May 3, 2013, after authorities found narcotic substances in luggage linked to her.

Kasingye, who was then director of Interpol and head of the National Central Bureau in Kampala, said his office opened discussions with counterparts in Japan.

However, one official advised him against spending much time on the case because Namubiru travelled on a French passport and could therefore be handled as a French national.

Kasingye said Wamala, who had been appointed Chief of Defence Forces on May 23, 2013, called him and urged him to look beyond the singer’s French citizenship.

“Asan, I have heard that someone could have placed those drugs without her knowledge. If it’s true, ignore those French connections. She’s Ugandan and you know it very well. Please do whatever you can to assist her get out of this mess,” Kasingye quoted Wamala as telling him.

Kasingye said he consulted the Inspector General of Police and received clearance to pursue the matter after explaining information suggesting that Namubiru had been framed.

He then contacted Interpol officials in Tokyo and asked them to investigate the possibility that someone had planted the drugs.

According to Kasingye, Japanese authorities later arrested a Ugandan linked to the drugs. He said the man had organised Namubiru’s performances in Tokyo and had arranged for her to carry luggage containing matooke.

Namubiru was later released and returned to Uganda.

“I want to categorically say, that it was you @GenWamala that brought Iryn home,” Kasingye said.

“If it wasn’t you, and my trust in your judgment & privileged information that you had at hand, I probably would have left the matter in the hands of French INTERPOL.”

Kasingye also reflected on his relationship with Wamala during the general’s tenure as Inspector General of Police between 2001 and 2005.

He said he was a Superintendent of Police when Wamala took charge of the force.

Soon after assuming office, Wamala appointed him acting head of the Community Affairs Department following the interdiction of his boss in connection with the Justice Julia Sebutinde Commission.

Kasingye said Wamala had followed his appearances on CBS radio and encouraged him to expand community policing as a crime prevention tool.

The two later appeared together on radio and television programmes and addressed public meetings.

Kasingye also wrote speeches for Wamala and represented him at some engagements.

He said their professional relationship later developed into a father-son bond.

During Wamala’s four years as police chief, Kasingye rose from Superintendent of Police to Senior Superintendent of Police in 2002, Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2004 and Commissioner of Police in 2005.

Kasingye said this challenged claims that most of his promotions came under Wamala’s successor, Gen Kale Kayihura.

Kayihura later recommended Kasingye for promotion to Assistant Inspector General of Police in 2009, the rank at which he retired in 2022.

Kasingye said Wamala continued checking on him after leaving the police and later offered to write the foreword to his book, Chosen.

“I will always remain indebted to your counsel, command, mentorship & advice. I looked up to you in whatever you did till today,” Kasingye said.

“You’ve retired a proud officer, a visionary leader, a Pan Africanist, a patriot, a commander, a mentor & a father.”

Wamala responded by saying the tribute had left him humbled and grateful.

“One of the greatest rewards of a life in service is knowing that, along the way, you have touched lives, opened doors, groomed others, and inspired them to become better versions of themselves,” Wamala said.

He said leadership meant building people, believing in them and preparing them to take responsibility.

“If I have helped groom and inspire even a few, then my 47 years of service have been worthwhile,” Wamala said.

Wamala completed 47 years of military service on July 31, 2026, closing a career in which he served in several senior security positions, including army commander, Inspector General of Police and Chief of Defence Forces. He remains in government as Works and Transport minister.