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PoliticsAfrica

Assassination attempt on Ugandan minister kills 2

June 1, 2021

The daughter and driver of General Katumba Wamala have been killed after unknown assailants shot at their car. Wamala, now the transport minister, was wounded in the arm.

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Katumba Wamala
Gunmen sprayed General Katumba Wamala's car with bullets, killing his daughter who was in the vehicle with him as well as the driverImage: AFP via Getty Images

A former army chief in Uganda has been injured and his daughter and driver killed after gunmen shot at the car in which they were being driven on Tuesday, according to an army spokeswoman and local media reports. 

General Katumba Wamala, Uganda's former army commander who is the current minister of transport, was attacked near his home in a suburb of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, military spokeswoman Brigadier Flavia Byekwaso told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

Byekwaso told AP that Wamala's daughter and driver had been confirmed dead since the attack.

Four attackers on motorcycles opened fire at the vehicle at least seven times, local television station NBS reported. Footage from the scene showed Wamala in his bloodied clothes asking to be taken to the hospital.

"He [Wamala] sustained injuries in both shoulders," lawmaker Chris Baryomunsi told NBS.

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The assassination attempt took place in the same suburb where in 2017 gunmen on motorcycles fired at a
vehicle carrying Felix Kaweesa, a senior police officer. Kaweesa was killed alongside his bodyguard and driver. 

Uganda has seen several unsolved assassinations of high profile officials in recent years. Other victims have included a lawmaker,
the country's top public prosecutor, senior Muslim leaders and others. Almost all were committed by gunmen on motorcycles.

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mvb/msh (AP, Reuters)