The Ugandan State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Col (rtd) Charles Okello Engola, had been shot dead on Tuesday morning by one of his bodyguards, Wilson Sabiiti at his home in Kampala, the country’s capital, the East African has reported.
This was revealed by police spokesperson, Fred Enanga who maintained that another minister’s aide-de-camp Ronald Otim also sustained severe injuries and was rushed to Mulago hospital for treatment.
“He (Engola) was shot at his residence in Kyanja by one of his bodyguards who allegedly fired several shots at close range. He fled from the scene up to the trading centre at Kyanja, Ring Road where he entered a salon and also shot himself dead,” the police said.
As police started their inquiries into the incident, security personnel cordoned off the crime scene. The first security officials to reach the minister's residence were Maj Gen Geoffrey Tumusiime Katsigazi, Deputy Inspector general of police, and Maj Tom Magambo, director of the criminal investigation department.
Prior to turning the gun on himself, the bodyguard allegedly complained that the murdered minister owed him several months' worth of unpaid wages. This occurred as he fired warning shots into the air to alert residents of Kyanja town.
The guard said that Ush4 million (about $1,000) had not been paid. The eyewitness reported that the man claimed his wife was pregnant and that although the minister's children were attending school, his own children were not.
But, Gender and Labour minister Betty Amongi, who was among the first government officials who arrived at Engola’s home after the shooting, told journalists that Sabiiti “was a new bodyguard.”
“He has been working as his bodyguard for a month. He came from Bombo and joined other security guards assigned to the minister from the Ministry of Gender ad Labour,” Ms Amongi said.
Police spokesperson, Mr Enanga, said it was too early to confirm the motive of the shooting.
“The investigation is currently in the early stages of review...We don’t want to speculate into the motive of the shooting until we have confirmed,” the police spokesman said.
According to Chris Baryomunsi, minister of ICT and national direction, the minister was shot while en route to a Cabinet meeting.