Minister wounded in assassination attempt
UGANDA’S transport minister was shot yesterday in an attack which left the former top general’s daughter and bodyguard dead, a government spokesperson said.
General Edward Katumba Wamala, who was chief of the defence forces between 2013 and 2017, came under fire while driving in the capital of Kampala, said government spokesperson Chris Baryomunsi.
“There was an attempt on his (Wamala’s) life this morning … His daughter and bodyguard were shot and they died at the scene,” he said.
“General Katumba has been rushed to hospital with bullet wounds and he is receiving treatment, the crime scene has been taken over by the investigators,” he added. “This could be a case of assassination by criminal elements but the investigations will establish the motive and those behind the attack.”
Witnesses to the attack told local television stations that four masked men riding two motorbikes fired scores of bullets at Wamala’s vehicle.
Ugandan military spokesperson Brigadier General Flavia Byekwaso confirmed this account. “Armed assailants on two motorbikes trailed and shot at the vehicle of General Edward Katumba Wamala,” he said.
In a video addressed to his children, Wamala spoke out about the attempt on his life, saying he had only been wounded in his arms. “I’ve survived. We have lost Brenda. That’s God’s plan. I love you guys. Please pray for Mummy. Mummy’s in a terrible state, please pray for her,” he said.
President Yoweri Museveni slammed the attackers as “pigs who do not value life” in a statement posted to Twitter. “I talked to General Katumba twice on the phone. He is being well-managed,” he said, adding “we already have clues to those killers”.
Museveni said the bodyguard had fired a warning shot which had saved the general’s life, but should have “shot to kill”.
Yesterday’s shooting was the latest in a series of attempted killings of high-profile targets by motorcycle-riding assassins in Uganda’s capital.
Museveni said a new system of “digital beacons” on all vehicles and motorcycles would stop them from being used in crimes.