The shooting of Col (Rtd) Charles Engola, the Uganda Minister of State (junior minister) for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, has not only left the country shocked but has raised more questions on the security of Very Important Persons (VIPs) in Uganda.
Investigating security officers are still puzzled over the motive of the shooting by Pte Wilson Sabiti, a UPDF officer who later took his life. The minister’s ADC, who was also shot but survived with severe injuries, is still admitted at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.
It is hoped that in coming days, investigators will piece together a report detailing why Pte Sabiti decided to shoot the Ugandan minister and himself dead. Sabiti had only spent about three weeks on the job.
Guards for ministers are routinely changed, meaning that these officers will be sent to guard other VIPs. It has now emerged that some of Sabiti’s predecessor guards for the junior labor minister had been sent abroad for a mission.
Frank Mugabi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, has been quoted as telling Daily Monitor that some of Minister Engola’s guards had been deployed to the African Union peace enforcement mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Meanwhile, Information Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi has announced that Engola will be given an official funeral. A full funeral program was yet to be confirmed.
You can read more on Minister Engola’s shooting by his new-on-job bodyguard and his profile Here and There.
(For advertising, sponsored content or story tips, send us a Whatsapp message on +256 705 690 819 or E-mail us on [email protected]).