How a bodyguard killed minister Charles Okello Engola

Minister Charles Okello Engola survived war zones, rebel attacks and decades of military service. Yet his life ended not on a battlefield, but in the driveway of his own home. Why did Private Wilson Sabiiti open fire?

Transcript

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This is New Vision CSI Crime Stories, where we revisit Uganda's most shocking crimes. Today we tell the story of a decorated soldier, a minister, and a tragedy that shocked the country. On the morning of May 2, 2023, retired Colonel Charles Okelo Engola, the State Minister for Labor, Employment and Industrial Relations, was preparing to leave his home in Chanzia for a cabinet meeting. Within minutes, he would be dead. His killer was not an assassin or a political rival. The man who pulled the trigger was one of his own bodyguards. And moments later, that bodyguard would turn the gun on himself. What happened inside the minister's compound that morning? Why did Private Wilson Sabiti open fire? And could the tragedy have been prevented? This is the story of the killing of Minister Charles Okello Engola. The events that led to the shooting may have started a day earlier. On May 1, 2023, Minister Engola attended the National Labor Day celebrations in Namutumba district. Traveling with him were members of his security detail, including Private Wilson Sabiti. According to sources involved in the investigation, during the return journey from Namutumba, Sabiti and several other guards reportedly complained about financial hardships. Investigators say Sabiti told his supervisor, Lieutenant Ronald O'Tim, that he had not received money he expected. He allegedly explained that his landlord was demanding rent arrears. His wife was pregnant. His children had school fees balances and pressure was mounting at home. Sources say Lieutenant O'Tim assured him that the issues would be addressed the following morning before any other business. But by Tuesday morning, tensions had apparently escalated. According to preliminary investigations, Sabiti reminded Otim about the promises made the previous day. What followed remains disputed. Investigators believe an argument broke out. Some accounts suggest Otim ignored his demands. Others claim Sabiti was told he was being removed from the minister's security team. As the disagreement intensified, Minister Engola was preparing to leave for a cabinet meeting. Then everything changed. Around 8.30 a.m., driver Sam Odongo began preparing the minister's official vehicle. In a statement later recorded by investigators, Odongo described a morning that initially seemed ordinary. He washed the vehicle with another guard. Sabiti arrived carrying his rifle. Odongo says the soldier appeared unusually quiet, reserved. Inside the house, the minister met his aide, Lieutenant Ronald O'Tim, to discuss the day's program. Soon afterwards, the minister emerged and headed toward his vehicle. According to Odongo, Minister Engola even spoke to Sabiti moments before the shooting. The minister entered the vehicle. Another guard unfolded the Ministerial flag. The driver started the engine. Then came the first gunshots. According to investigators, Sabiti suddenly opened a gun safe, cocked his weapon, and fired at Lieutenant Otim. The bullets struck Otim, sending him crashing to the ground. Inside the vehicle, the minister reacted in shock, but there was no time to escape. Investigators believe Sabiti then turned his rifle toward the minister. Witnesses say he fired multiple rounds at close range. The official vehicle was later found riddled with bullet holes. Driver Sam Odongo says he ducked behind a steering wheel expecting to die. Another guard attempted to intervene but was forced to flee under fire. As Otim lay wounded, investigators say Sabiti followed him and fired again. He then returned to where the minister had fallen. According to witnesses, he fired additional rounds. The attack lasted only moments, but the damage was irreversible. Minister Charles Okello Engola was dead. Lieutenant Ronald O'Team was critically injured, and Private Wilson Sabiti was not finished. Witnesses say Sabiti walked out of the compound firing into the air. As residents scattered in fear, he moved toward Chanja Ring Road. Several people heard him shouting, I have killed them. He eventually reached a nearby beauty salon in Katoomba Zone. Inside were three people. Sabiti ordered them out. Terrified, they escaped through the back door. Minutes later a final gunshot rang out. Private Wilson Sabiti had taken his own life. Two men were dead. One was fighting for survival, and investigators were left searching for answers. Almost immediately, conflicting explanations emerged. Some eyewitnesses claimed Sabiti had been protesting and paid allowances. Others claimed he had spoken repeatedly about financial distress. One witness said the soldier complained that he had a pregnant wife, children in school, and no money. His sister later revealed that only days before the shooting, Sabiti had asked her for 10,000 shillings because he was broke. She said his children had missed examinations because school fees had not been paid. Yet military officials disputed the salary theory. UPDF deputy spokesperson at the time, Carnodeo Akiki, stated that soldiers had received their salaries by April 27th. He explained that soldiers assigned to ministers also receive additional allowances. Officials from the gender ministry similarly stated that no specific allowances were owed only to Sabiti. The ministry's permanent secretary said all guards were treated equally and no special payments had been delayed. This raised another question. If salary was not the issue, what was? Investigators began examining Sabiti's history. What they discovered added another layer to the mystery. Several people who had previously worked with Sabiti described him as difficult. National Resistance Movement Vice Chairperson Captain Mike Mukula then confirmed that Sabiti had once served on his security team, but only for four months. Mukula said he requested that the soldier be withdrawn because he considered him unstable. According to Mukula, Sabiti could become impulsive, emotional, and vindictive. He claimed that when disagreements arose, Sabiti would sometimes talk to himself in anger. Mukula later recorded a formal statement. Investigators also learned that another senior military officer had reportedly requested Sabiti's removal from a previous assignment, yet, despite these concerns, he later was deployed to minister in Ola's security detail. This raised troubling questions. Were warning signs missed? Were proper mental health assessments conducted? Could the tragedy have been prevented? Security experts questioned whether enough attention had been paid to the welfare and psychological well-being of personnel assigned to VIP protection duties. Others pointed to reports that the guards obtained meals on credit from a nearby restaurant. Restaurant owner Anita Tendo told reporters she regularly supplied food to the guards and that they owed her money. Why experts asked, were guards protecting senior officials accumulating debts for basic meals? Was there a deeper welfare problem beneath the surface? Or was this the act of a troubled individual acting alone? The answers remain uncertain. As investigators searched for motives, Uganda mourned the man whose life had been cut short. Charles Okelo Engola was more than a minister. He was a soldier, a commander, and to many in northern Uganda a hero. Born in Oyam District in 1958, Engola built a reputation during the war against the Lord's Resistance Army. His battlefield nickname was Machoduogo, meaning the fire is back. Residents gave him the name because his military campaigns helped restore security to communities terrorized by rebel attacks. He later served as Oyam District Chairperson, Member of Parliament for Oyam North, and eventually as State Minister. President Joe Mseveni described him as a fearless fighter whose efforts helped defeat Joseph Kony's insurgency. At the time of his death, Engola was preparing for a major personal milestone. He had announced plans to marry his longtime partner, Joyce Aikoro, in June 2023. Renovation works at the church where the wedding was scheduled were already nearing completion, as Uganda buried a decorated soldier and public servant. Another family was also grieving. The family of Wilson Sabiti publicly apologized. His sister described him as a loving brother and a born-again Christian. She said they struggled to understand how he could have committed such an act. His mother, siblings, and children were left confronting the consequences of a tragedy that had shocked the nation. To this day, many questions remain unanswered. Was the shooting driven by financial disparation, mental distress, a personal grievance, or a combination of pressures that exploded into violence? Investigators examined witness statements, forensic evidence, and the testimonies of the minister's wife, driver, aide, and security personnel. But the man who held many of the answers died with a gunshot in a beauty salon only minutes after the attack. And so one of Uganda's most shocking insider killings remains a case filled with unanswered questions. Minister Charles Okelo Engola survived war zones, rebel attacks, and decades of military service. Yet his life ended not on a battlefield, but in the driveway of his own home, killed by the very man assigned to protect him. Thank you for listening to the New Vision CSI Crime Stories. Join us next time as we uncover another crime.