A Ugandan soldier has fatally shot the politician he was assigned to guard.
The victim, Retired Colonel Charles Okello Engola, was shot and killed in his home on Tuesday morning.
After killing Engola, the soldier, who has been identified as Private Wilson Sabiiti, then proceeded to shoot himself dead.
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Engola was Uganda’s deputy minister for gender and labour. He had previously served as a deputy minister of defense.
The Minister’s aide, Ronald Otim, was also severely injured in the incident and had to be rushed to the hospital.
The Ugandan Police spokesperson confirmed the incident while addressing journalists in the country.
“He (Engola) was shot at his residence in Kyanja by one of his bodyguards who allegedly fired several shots at close range. He fled from the scene up to the trading centre at Kyanja, Ring Road where he entered a salon and also shot himself dead,” he said.
Earlier, an eyewitness claimed that the bodyguard made complaints that the late minister owed him several months of unpaid salary while shooting into the air, moments before he turned the gun on himself.
Uganda’s speaker of parliament, Anita Among, also addressed the tragic incident in a short statement.
“This morning I received sad news that Hon Engola has been shot by his bodyguard and after, shot himself. May his soul rest in peace. That was God’s plan. We can’t change anything,” she told MPs.