Shot minister thanks taxi rider for help

KAMPALA - Ugandan Minister Katumba Wamala, who survived an assassination attempt on Tuesday, has thanked the rider of a boda boda (motorbike taxi) for taking him to hospital in the capital, Kampala.

“I would like in a special way to thank the boda boda man who forced me on his boda so that I can go and get first aid,”  the former army commander and ex-police chief said in a series of tweets about the incident, thanking those who had helped him.

He said he had no clue for the motive of the attack, which killed his 26-year-old daughter Brenda Nantogo and his driver, Haruna Kayondo.

“There was no reason to end the lives of these innocent people. May their souls rest in peace,” he said.

The officer escorting him shot back at the attackers and managed to evacuate him from the scene, the general explained.

“Things could have been worse,” he said.

“My injuries are not alarming. I had surgery last evening, and one of the bullets was removed. However, because of how the other bullet affected my arteries, it was not removed, and the doctors will advise on the way forward.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to defeat the criminals who shot and wounded Gen Wamala.

Meanwhile, police in Uganda have released street camera footage of two men believed to be behind Tuesday’s assassination attempt on Wamala.

The CCTV footage shows four men on two motorbikes. One of them is wearing a blue- stripped T-shirt.

One of the bikes makes a U-turn not far from the scene of the attack, before disappearing into a petrol station.

None of their faces are clearly identifiable. A joint police, army and military intelligence team is investigating the shooting. – BBC.