Uganda’s Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Survives Assassination Attempt

by PH June 1, 2021, 10:13 am

KAMPALA, UGANDA - MAY 20: Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces General Katumba Wamala speaks during an interview in Kampala, Uganda on May 20, 2014. Uganda might reduce the number of troops it is contributing to an African taskforce stationed in the Central African Republic (CAR) and tasked with hunting down the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) due to a lack of funding. (Photo by Halima Athumani / Anadolu Agency /Getty Images)

Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport and a four-star general in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Edward Katumba Wamala is in the hospital, recovering from an assassination attempt.

An army spokesperson says a group of gunmen shot at a car in which Wamala and his daughter were riding.

The assassination attempt happened in the Kampala suburb of Kiasasi.

Uganda’s Parliament Speaker Jacob Oulanyah confirmed that the general’s daughter, Brenda Wamala Nantongo and his driver, Haruna Kayondo, were killed.

One of our colleagues @GenWamala has been shot.
His driver and daughter are dead. He is receiving first aid and I will see him to assess the situation to give the House an update.
May the souls of the departed Rest In Peace.
— Jacob Oulanyah (@JacobOulanyah) June 1, 2021

Daily Monitor reports that the incident happened on Tuesday morning at around 9 am. According to video footage that has been circulating on social media, Gen. Wamala is seen walking but his clothes are stained in blood.

“He sustained injuries in both shoulders,” lawmaker Chris Baryomunsi told local television station, NBS

Gen. Wamala and his daughter were reportedly heading for the burial of a close relative in Najjanankumbi.

I wish you a month of Happiness, Success, Peace, Prosperity, Good Health, and Wealth.
Remember to social distance, sanitize, and wash your hands regularly.#STAYSAFEUG #COVID19UG pic.twitter.com/4TuPEPrkRm
— General Edward Katumba Wamala (@GenWamala) June 1, 2021

Wamala hails from the Baganda, the country’s largest ethnic group.

Just this morning, the General tweeted “I wish you a month of Happiness, Success, Peace, Prosperity, Good Health, and Wealth. Remember to social distance, sanitize, and wash your hands regularly.”