Uganda's deputy minister for labour was shot and killed by his bodyguard early Tuesday in an apparent private dispute, according to the army and local media.
According to reports, Deputy Minister for Gender and Labour Charles Engola, a retired army colonel in the government of President Yoweri Museveni was gunned down at his home on Tuesday morning.
The attacker, who has not been publicly identified, then turned the gun on himself, according to state broadcaster UBC and others.
Uganda Parliament speaker Anita Among condoled his death. "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," BBC quoted Among as saying.
BBC reported that multiple people might have suffered injuries in the incident and eyewitnesses said walked around the neighbourhood shooting in the air.
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 the details as we jointly investigate the matter,” Kulayigye said on Twitter.
The shooting took place 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 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.