A bodyguard shot and murdered a cabinet minister in Uganda early Tuesday in an apparent private argument, according to the army and local media.
According to state broadcaster UBC and others, the attacker, who has not been officially recognized, subsequently turned the gun on himself.
Charles Engola, the victim, was the junior minister in charge of labor in President Yoweri Museveni’s government. He had retired as a colonel in the army.
In a brief statement, Army spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said Engola was killed as a result of a “unfortunate incident.” “We shall inform the public of the details as we jointly investigate the matter,” Kulayigye stated on Twitter.
The shooting took place inside Engola’s residence in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Detectives from the police department have arrived on the site.
The reason was not immediately obvious, but the local press reported that there had been a dispute about the guard’s salaries.
“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.
