By Phephile Motau
A Ugandan government minister was reportedly shot dead by his bodyguard on Tuesday.
According to Business Standard, Charles Engola died after the shooting. It is said the issue emanated from a private dispute. Engola reportedly served in the government of President Yoweri Museveni as the junior minister in charge of labour. He was a retired army colonel. He was the current Deputy Minister for Labour.
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The attacker, who has not been publicly identified, then shot himself, according to the publication. The shooting took place inside Engola’s home in a suburb of the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
The motive was not immediately clear, but the local press reported there had been an apparent dispute over the guard’s wages. It was reported that witnesses claim that the soldier was yelling that he had not been paid for a long time despite working for a minister, according to reports by local Ugandan online media.
Other high-profile officials have been killed in gun attacks over the years in the country. In 2021, a former army chief in Uganda was wounded and his daughter killed when gunmen shot at their vehicle in Kampala.