Arthur Greene
Gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on a car carrying Uganda’s Transport Minister, General Katumba Wamala, on Tuesday, killing his daughter, Brenda Wamala, and his driver, Haruna Kayondo. The minister was injured in the assassination attempt.
Witnesses said several shots were fired into Wamala’s vehicle while driving in a suburb of the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
A government official said a local resident was also caught in the crossfire and has been taken to hospital.
General Wamala, who previously served as a commander in the Ugandan army, was taken to hospital after the incident where he is currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
From his hospital bed he recorded a video message for Ugandan TV.
“I have survived. We have lost Brenda. The bad guys have done it, but God has given me a second chance,” he said.
On Twitter, President Museveni condemned the attack, blaming it on terrorists whom he said are “pigs who do not value life.”
The army has stated that phone calls relating to the assassination attempt are being investigated but so far no suspects have been named.
The incident marks the latest in a string of assassination attempts made on several of the country’s high-profile figures in recent years.
In June 2018, Ibrahim Abiriga, a politician and supporter of Museveni, was gunned down. In April 2017, former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi was assassinated alongside his driver and bodyguard.
In both cases, the perpetrators were gunmen on motorbikes. None of the assassinations have so far been successfully investigated or prosecuted.
Image source: @GenWamala
