Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport has spoken out for the first time since the attempt on his life, while President Yoweri Museveni has said the minister’s bodyguard “should have shot to kill”.
On Wednesday, Minister Edward Katumba Wamala, who is also a high-ranking general in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), broke his silence after the failed assassination attempt on Tuesday in Kisaasi within the capital city Kampala, Daily Monitor reported.
Katumba’s daughter, Brenda Nantongo, was killed in the attack, as was the driver, Haruna Kayondo, according to Uganda Radio Network.
“I survived. I thank God,” Katumba wrote on social media on Wednesday morning.
He said he was on his way to his mother-in-law’s vigil with his daughter, bodyguard and driver when four perpetrators – now labelled “terrorists” – riding two motorcycles opened fire on his car.
Greetings Uganda!
— General Edward Katumba Wamala (@GenWamala) June 2, 2021
I survived. I thank God.
While driving in the morning with my daughter, bodyguard and driver heading to my mother in-law's vigil, some terrorists tried to assassinate me. pic.twitter.com/eAPDfGFFOo
His bodyguard, Sergeant Khalid Koboyoit, returned fire in vain, but “things could have been worse” if it weren’t for his quick thinking.
Katumba was seen emerging from his vehicle covered in blood and was treated for his injuries at Medipal International Hospital.
However, President Yoweri Museveni stated on Twitter on Tuesday that Koboyoit “should have shot to kill” rather than shooting into the air.
I wish Gen. Katumba a quick recovery. The bodyguard should not have shot in the air. He should have shot to kill. We could be having a dead terrorist instead of scaring away the terrorists. His shooting saved Gen. Katumba by scaring the criminals away.
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) June 1, 2021
“We could be having a dead terrorist instead of scaring away the terrorists. His shooting saved Gen. Katumba by scaring the criminals away,” Museveni wrote.
Museveni said he had spoken to Katumba twice on the phone and that he was being “well managed”.
Katumba said he was praying that the terrorists are “brought to book“.
African News Agency (ANA)