A UPDF officer and bodyguard who shot dead his boss, junior labour minister Col (Rtd) Charles Engola, has been identified. According to Information Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the bodyguard was Private (Pte) Wilson Sabiiti.
Private Sabiiti shot Minister Engola, who was also the Member of Parliament for Oyam North in Lango sub-region, as he disembarked from his vehicle to respond to chaos and threats engineered by his body guard. By the time he was shot dead, Engola was preparing to go to a cabinet meeting.
Also shot was the minister’s ADC Ronald Otim who sustained severe injuries, according to Minister Baryomunsi, and was still receiving treatment at the Mulago National Referral Hospital by the time of publication of this report.
Sabiiti shot himself dead after killing the minister, his boss. Some reports had claimed that Sabiiti was heard complaining about the non-payment of his salary. But Minister Baryomunsi said the bodyguard had been on the job, offering protection to Engola, for about one month. He wondered how Sabiiti would be complaining of non-payment in such a short time he has been working as the minister’s body guard.
“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, Labour and Social Development,” Minister Betty Amongi, Engola’s senior minister and Oyam South MP, emphasized Baryomunsi’s statement on Sabiiti having only guarded the minister for about one month.
Sabiiti was the same bodyguard offering protection to Engola during Labor Day Celebrations in Namutumba District on Monday, May 01.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (Ruhinda North (Mitooma District) – NRM), who visited Engola’s home to condole with the family and assess the situation after the shooting, hinted on mental health as a probable cause of the shooting, adding that there were instances when many go to work when they are undergoing troublesome situations.
You can read more on Minister Charles Engola’s shooting by his bodyguard in our earlier story Here.
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