Ugandan Government Minister Charles Engola Shot and Killed by Bodyguard

A government minister in Uganda, Charles Engola, was shot and killed by his bodyguard early Tuesday in an apparent private dispute. The attacker, who has not been publicly identified, then committed suicide. Engola served as the junior minister in charge of labor in President Yoweri Museveni’s government and was a retired army colonel.

The shooting took place inside Engola’s home in a suburb of Kampala, and police detectives are now investigating the scene. The motive for the attack is not immediately clear, but local press reports suggest that there may have been a dispute over the guard’s wages.

This incident is likely to create shockwaves in Uganda, where other high-profile officials have been killed in gun attacks over the years. In 2021, a former army chief was wounded, and his daughter killed when gunmen shot at their vehicle in Kampala.

There have been several assassinations and mysterious deaths of high-profile officials in Uganda in recent years. For example, in 2021, gunmen shot Katumba Wamala, Uganda’s minister of works and transport, in what police described as a “targeted drive-by shooting” which left the former top general’s daughter and driver dead. There have also been other victims such as a lawmaker, a senior police officer, the country’s top public prosecutor and senior Muslim leaders.