“I’m saddened and outraged by the reckless and pointless murder of my best friend, Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations on May 2nd, 2023,” said Queen Dorothy Amolo, an international investor based in the United States who hails from Kamdini Town Council, Oyam South County, in Oyam District.
Amolo, who is the brain behind various community groups promoting wealth creation initiatives in Aber, Minakulu, Myene, Loro, Acaba, and Iceme Sub Counties, among others, described the gruesome murder of the late Minister Macodwogo as a direct hit on the development of young people, women, and vulnerable groups in Lango, Oyam District specifically. Lango sub region and the UPDF have lost a war hero.
“We had just concluded a partnership to bring a radio station to the people of Northern Uganda and several pieces of equipment for the community hospital that he founded in Oyam North—a plan we set in motion months ago,” Amolo, who contested for the Oyam South County MP seat during 2021, said.
According to her, the whole story surrounding the murder of Col. Engola is absurd; it does not make sense and leaves more questions than answers.
Below are some of the questions that Amolo, like many others, has continued asking:
➡ How can a bodyguard who worked with the minister for less than five weeks kill him in cold blood because of non-payment of an allowance or salary?
➡ How much was this bodyguard owed, and who owed his allowance or salary?
➡ Isn’t it the government of Uganda that pays salaries for UPDF officers and all bodyguards assigned to ministers?
➡ Isn’t it the line ministry that is supposed to pay any allowance for aides and security officers assigned to ministers?
➡ If the allowance was meant to be paid by the minister himself, is a one-time missed payment sufficient ground to take the life of a man?
➡ How is the life of Minister Charles Okello Engola related to the non-payment of allowance or salary by the bodyguard’s employer (the Government of Uganda)?
➡ What happened to his long-term bodyguard before this new murderer?
➡ Why was this suicidal maniac transferred to his security detail in the first place?
➡ What were the background and history of this deadly killer?
➡ Why would the bodyguard wait to be transferred to the minister, work for one month, and murder him in cold blood?
➡ Was the transfer an inside hit?
➡ Which individual was this UPDF soldier guarding before being transferred to “protect” Minister Charles Okello Engola?
➡ How long did he work for his previous boss?
➡ What were the circumstances of his transfer?
➡ Who decided that this UPDF soldier be assigned to my friend, Hon. Charles Okello Engola?
➡ Who approved the transfer?
➡ Why didn’t the bodyguard murder his previous boss?
➡ Who wanted Col (Rtd) Charles Okello Engola Macodwogo, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations, dead?
“These questions do not heap blanket blame on the UPDF as a body, nor do they blame the government of Uganda.” “This message is geared towards finding the truth behind the reckless murder of the Minister of State for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations, a member of parliament from Oyam North constituency, a friend, a husband, a brother, a father, a grandfather, and a retired UPDF soldier,” she noted.
Conclusively, Queen Dorothy Amolo suggested a deep and 360° investigation approach into the gruesome murder of the fallen retired UPDF cadre.
“We demand a thorough investigation. The dead bodyguard must be investigated in detail. All his movements, whom he spoke to within the last six months, his work history, his family, and all those who initiated and authorized his transfer to the minister, etc. This was not an ordinary suicidal murder. This was an execution. My dear friend, you were a lion, the King of the Jungle. It is unfortunate that a rat took your life! May your dear soul rest in eternal peace,” Amolo expressed.
