KAMPALA-Parliament has paid tribute to the former State Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Late Col (rtd) Okello Charles Patrick Engola.
Col. Engola was on May 2, 2013 shot and killed by his bodyguard, Pte Wilson Sabiiti at his residence in Kyanja, a Kampala suburb. The killer fired several shots at close range before fleeing the scene up to the trading center where he entered a salon and shot himself dead.
The motion to honor his contribution was moved by the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and seconded by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mathias Mpuuga, Government Chip Whip Hamson Obua and the rest of the house.
During the special sitting, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among said it is extremely unfortunate that the late Col. Engola succumbed to a brutal assassination carried out by one of his guards. He was a disciplined, hardworking, honest and kind person.
“He contributed immensely to the government of Uganda, in his various responsibilities as a member of parliament and a minister. On behalf of the Parliament of Uganda, and indeed on my own behalf, I convey the heartfelt condolences to the family at this painful time,” she said.
PM Nabbanja said Engola answered the highest call of serving his country as a professional soldier. He was a war hero and played a fundamental role in the pacification of the northern part of this country.
“Engola served this country as a humble servant and fearless warrior with utmost wholeness,” she said.
Mpuuga said dealing with a manipulation of labor externalization was so close to his heart when under duress, cognizant of his contribution when he took a decisive stance in the counseling licenses of un-compliant labour export agents.
He was courageous and we are proud of him for that courage to speak and the sacrifice made by the past commander in the UPDF.
“The police this time around and for once surprise the nation with a conclusive and believable report on the murder of our colleagues. It’s not enough to say that we know the killer. We need a believable reporter this time around as a surprise from the police,” he said.
Lt. Gen. James Mugira said we are mourning and paying glowing tribute to one of us, a brave soldier who joined the military in 1979.
“We are celebrating the life of a professional officer who undertook various military courses, including officers this course in 1992 radio systems course in 1998, the battalion commanders course in 2005.We are paying tribute to a courageous, decisive, committed and accomplished athletic commander who fought and won major battles,” he said.
He said Engola played a big role during Operation Safe Havens in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was deputy commander of all the UPDF artillery and air defense units involved in defensive operations against the Joseph Kony which had wreaked havoc in the country, counter insurgency operations in northern Uganda and others.
“He was a man of few words but extremely pragmatic, who exercised hands-on leadership. He was also a very good political adviser, as evidenced by the massive support he received, when upon retiring from the army, contested and was voted massively as chairperson Local Council five and later Member of Parliament. He was determined to transform his people out of poverty and worked towards improving their standards of living,” he said.
Norbert Mao, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs said a soldier stands between the enemy and the people he or she has sworn to protect. A soldier stays awake in order that the people can sleep, risks death in order for people to live, keeps the peace and goes to war. Our fallen colleague was a true soldier in the truest sense of the word.
“Engola belonged to the wider family we all call Uganda. He never dishonored his uniform. It is not only private Sabiiti who dishonored his uniform but anybody in uniform whether police, Prisons, UPDF who acts outside the law, who unleashes excessive violence on un armed civilian dishonors the uniform. You don’t have to kill a Ugandan to dishonor the uniform that was rather extreme. But let it be said that it is today that we must express our high expectations of our armed forces,” he said.
