Uganda: Amolo Questions Circumstances Leading to Shooting of Minister Charles Engola

4 May 2023
Nile Post (Kampala)
By Muhamadi Matovu

Queen Dorothy Amolo has wondered who might have approved the transfer of Private Wilson Sabiiti, the bodyguard who killed Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations Charles Okello Engola in cold blood.

Engola, the Oyam North MP was killed by his bodyguard who had just worked with him for a month, according to authorities. The Minister was gunned down at his residence in Kyanja, Kampala.

Amolo, who is an international investor based in the United States and hails from Kamdini Town Council, Oyam South County, in Oyam District called for a deep and 360° investigation approach into the gruesome murder of the fallen Minister.

She described the murder of the fallen minister as a direct hit on the development of young people, women, and vulnerable groups in Lango, Oyam district specifically.

"I am saddened and outraged by the reckless and pointless murder of my best friend, Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations on May 2, 2023," she said.

Amolo is the brain behind various community groups promoting wealth creation initiatives in Aber, Minakulu, Myene, Loro, Acaba, and Iceme Sub Counties.

"We had just concluded a partnership to bring a radio station to the people of Northern Uganda and several pieces of equipment for the community hospital that he founded in Oyam North, a plan we set in motion months ago," Amolo, who contested for the Oyam South County MP seat during 2021 said.

She said the whole story surrounding the murder of Col. Engola is absurd and it does not make sense and leaves more questions than answers.

Below are some of the questions that Amolo, like many others, has continued asking:

  • · How can a bodyguard who worked with the minister for less than five weeks kill him in cold blood because of non-payment of an allowance or salary?
  • · How much was this bodyguard owed, and who owed his allowance or salary?
  • Isn't it the government of Uganda that pays salaries for UPDF officers and all bodyguards assigned to ministers?
  • Isn't it the line ministry that is supposed to pay any allowance for aides and security officers assigned to ministers?
  • If the allowance was meant to be paid by the minister himself, is a one-time missed payment sufficient ground to take the life of a man?
  • How is the life of Minister Charles Okello Engola related to the non-payment of allowance or salary by the bodyguard's employer (the Government of Uganda)?
  • What happened to his long-term bodyguard before this new murderer?
  • Why was this suicidal maniac transferred to his security detail in the first place?
  • What was the background and history of this deadly killer?
  • Why would the bodyguard wait to be transferred to the minister, work for one month, and murder him in cold blood?
  • Was the transfer an inside hit?
  • Which individual was this UPDF soldier guarding before being transferred to "protect" Minister Charles Okello Engola?
  • How long did he work for his previous boss?
  • What were the circumstances of his transfer?
  • Who decided that this UPDF soldier be assigned to my friend, Hon. Charles Okello Engola?
  • Who approved the transfer?
  • Why didn't the bodyguard murder his previous boss?
  • Who wanted Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations, dead?

"These questions do not heap blanket blame on the UPDF as a body, nor do they blame the government of Uganda. This message is geared towards finding the truth behind the reckless murder of the Minister," she noted.

She called for a thorough investigation, adding that the dead bodyguard must be investigated in detail including all his movements, whom he spoke to within the last six months, his work history, his family, and all those who initiated and authorised his transfer to the minister.

"This was not an ordinary suicidal murder. This was an execution. My dear friend, you were a lion, the King of the jungle. It is unfortunate that a rat took your life. May your dear soul rest in eternal peace," Amolo expressed.

Read the original article on Nile Post.

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