The military guard who fatally shot (Rtd) Col Charles Engola, a 64-year-old deputy minister for the Labour Ministry, reported for duty early on the fateful day with more ammunition than usual concealed in magazine pouches beneath a coat.
According to various stories, including a detailed one provided by Mr Sam Odongo, the minister’s official chauffeur of 15 years, Pte Wilson Sabiiti was demoted from chief bodyguard to a regular escort on Tuesday, camped out by the gate in silence the previous evening.
The minister rented a house in Kyanja, a residential neighborhood northeast of Kampala.
Mr Odongo stated that they did not suspect anything sinister on that fateful day because the military guard was normally a shy type.
The soldier’s unexpected outbreak of violence, which killed the minister and left his aide-de-camp (ADC) Lt Ronald Otim wobbling from gunshot wounds, caught them off guard and sparked a chaotic escape, according to the driver, who provided the first detailed eyewitness account of the last hours of commotion at Engola’s home.
Pte Sabiiti clutched his AK-47 assault rifle delicately and gingerly as the morning sun pierced through the eastern horizon, throwing longer shadows on the ground in the other direction.
The minister’s official car had been washed, started, and driven to a spot in front of the home while he waited in the driver’s seat.
Lt. Otim entered the residence to brief Col. Engola, who, according to a second source, had instructed him to remove Pte. Sabiiti as his chief bodyguard.
Lt. Otim, also known as an ADC and the minister’s personal aide, arrived and sat down in front of the principal’s vehicle.
Pte Sabiiti unlocked the gate and drove in first in a SUV that wasn’t going to Entebbe.
Driver Odongo reported that the newly appointed bodyguard, only known as Ssenyonga, accompanied the aide-de-camp to the house and exited with Engola’s luggage before placing it in the car.
The minister then walked out and entered the vehicle where Lt. Otim was saluting and holding the door open for him.
By this point, Pte Sabiiti had moved and was standing at the entrance of the garage though behind the minister’s car, according to Mr. Odongo.
Pte Ssenyonga was removing the car’s flag from its traditional shaft scabbard when he heard Pte Sabiiti pull the trigger. Then, he charged forward and fired at a standing Lieutenant Otim, with whom he reportedly had a brief exchange, killing the ADC.
Witnesses stated that Colonel Engola appeared to reach for his waist-mounted pistol as he exited the vehicle, at which point Private Sabiiti shot him, leaving some investigators uncertain whether the minister was the primary or secondary target.