The State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, (rtd) Col Charles Okello Engola has been shot dead this morning by his body guard from his home in Kyanja, a Kampala suburb.

The Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigire confirmed the incident, and the Speaker of Parliament, Annet Anita Among, also confirmed the minister’s death while presiding over the plenary session this morning.
The scene of crime has been cordoned off by security personnel as investigation into the muder continues.
Initial reports indicate that Charles Okello Engola was stepping out of his home, heading to work when one of his bodyguards shot him dead.
The bodyguard then started roaming the neighbourhood while continuing to shoot in the air and eventually retreated to a nearby salon, ordered the people cowering inside to leave before he turned the gun on himself.
Witnesses claim that the soldier was yelling that he had not been paid for a long time despite working for a minister.

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A fellow resident and former Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebaggala was one of the first on the scene and claimed to have seen Engola’s bodyguard on rampage in the neighbourhood and advised the residents to take cover as the soldier continued to shoot in the air.
There are unconfirmed reports that the soldier shot a fellow bodyguard who has been rushed to hospital and several government heads, including army and police, have descended on Engola’s home with the security minister Jim Muhwezi being among those who have already converged at the home.
Engola’s last public appearance was in Namutumba district to mark International Labour Day on May 1.

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Biography

Charles Okello Macodwogo Engola (12 October 1958 – 2 May 2023), commonly known as Charles Okello-Engola, was a Ugandan politician and Colonel in the Uganda People’s Defence Force. He was the State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations in the Ugandan Cabinet.