A bodyguard shot and killed a government minister in Uganda early Tuesday in an apparent private dispute, the army and local media disclosed
According to state broadcaster UBC and others, the attacker, who has not been publicly identified, then turned the gun on himself.
The victim, Charles Engola, was a retired army colonel who served as the junior minister in charge of labour in President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
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 of the details as we jointly investigate the matter,” Kulayigye said on Twitter.
The shooting occurred 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 will likely create shockwaves in a country where other high-profile officials have been killed in gun attacks.
In 2021, a former army chief in Uganda was wounded, and his daughter was killed when gunmen shot at their vehicle in Kampala.
