A bodyguard shot and killed a government minister in Uganda
early Tuesday in an apparent private dispute, according to the army and local
media.
The attacker, who has not been publicly identified, then
turned the gun on himself, according to state broadcaster UBC and others.
The victim, Charles Engola, served in the government of
President Yoweri Museveni as the junior minister in charge of labor. He was a
retired army colonel.
Army spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said in a short
statement that an “unfortunate incident” led to the killing of Engola. “We
shall inform the public the details as we jointly investigate the matter,”
Kulayigye said on Twitter.
The shooting took place inside Engola’s home in a suburb of
the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Police detectives are now at the scene.
The motive was not immediately clear, but the local press
said there had been an apparent dispute over the guard’s wages.
“Witnesses claim that the soldier was yelling that he had
not been paid for a long time despite working for a minister,” the online
newspaper NilePost reported.
The incident is likely to create shockwaves in a country
where other high-profile officials have been killed in gun attacks over the
years.
In 2021, a former army chief in Uganda was wounded and his
daughter killed when gunmen shot at their vehicle in Kampala.
Source - ABC News
-Agencies
