Ugandan traffic officers to carry firearms after attempt on minister’s life

Traffic officials in Uganda have been instructed by the president to carry firearms after the attempted assassination of the minister of works and transport.

CAPE TOWN, June 7 (ANA) – Traffic officials in Uganda have been instructed by President Yoweri Museveni to carry firearms after the attempted assassination of the Minister of Works and Transport General Edward Katumba Wamala.

On Sunday, Museveni, the long-serving president of Uganda, announced that traffic officers will carry firearms or be partnered with armed officers, Daily Monitor reported.

The minister, who is also a general in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, survived an assassination attempt last Tuesday.

Museveni made the remarks during a televised address on the revised Covid-19 mitigation measures that have been put in place as the country experiences its second wave, according to the BBC.

He revealed that the four assailants who were on two motorcycles could not be halted as they fled the scene because the officers were unarmed, according to Daily Monitor.

The assassination attempt took place in the East African country’s capital city of Kampala.

General Katumba was accompanied by his daughter Brenda Nantongo, 26, his driver Haruna Kayondo and his bodyguard Sergeant Khalid Koboyoit, according to a statement by the Ugandan Police Force (UPF).

Nantongo and Kayondo were killed in the attack.

Museveni added that General Katumba’s vehicle should have been accompanied by a follow car since he is a four-star general.

During Uganda’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on June 4, a moment of silence was observed in honour of the two killed in the incident, the New Vision shared on social media.

“Thank you so much for standing with me during this trying time. I don’t take this love for granted,” General Katumba said.

“We have got some good leads,” Museveni said about the investigation into the assassination attempt, according to the Parliament of Uganda.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher