A bodyguard will only protect you if he or she still wants to live

News of the fatal shooting of the State Minister for Labour, Col (rtd) Charles Okello Engola, by his own bodyguard — who later turned the gun on himself — sent shock waves across the country. We are, after all, not used to such news. This was a first and, sadly, a tragic first.

No Cabinet minister in Uganda has ever been murdered by his bodyguard. A string of high-profile fatal (and near-fatal) shootings the country witnessed between 2014 and 2021 involved Muslim religious leaders, a principal state attorney, senior police officers, one MP and a UPDF major, among others.

The killers were not bodyguards. Suspects were arrested, but whether the real culprits will ever be arrested and brought to justice remains to be seen.

Initial media reports about the fatal shooting of Col Engola, who was 65, alleged he was mistreating the bodyguard, Pte Wilson Sabiiti. But with both men dead, you really cannot independently establish the truth. And post-mortems cannot and do not address external causes of death such as misunderstandings or altercations and suchlike.

If you are a believer, perhaps the best way to come to terms with this kind of tragedy is to bring in God, as Speaker Anita Among did. She said: “This morning, I received sad news that Hon Engola has been shot by his bodyguard and after, shot himself. May his soul rest in peace. That was God’s plan. We can’t change anything.” 

This incident is going to force VIPs to do some soul-searching and seriously review their relationships with their bodyguards. Bodyguards, for the most part, tend to be meek and they use the title “sir” or “madam” unfailingly obsequiously when talking to their bosses. But this sometimes masks tensions and does not mean the bodyguards do not take note of bad things being done to them by the bosses — which is not to say Pte Sabiiti was being mistreated.

A bodyguard can act remarkably like a dog — loyal and obedient — if you treat him very well. But if you do not and he is dealing with a host of frustrations, views you as a key contributor to his suffering and has got to the point of asking whether there is any point in staying alive, you will be in big, fat danger.

You can expect protection from a bodyguard who still values his own life. Bodyguards fear and respect their bosses when they still want to live. In fact, our leaders who wield real power and are controlling Uganda should be eternally grateful to their bodyguards. 

If a bodyguard wants to dispatch you to heaven or hell, they can do so in less than no time. (It happened to DRC’s Laurent Kabila in January 2001.) Your power and authority cannot serve as a deterrent. A bodyguard who has resolved to die with you will not have any fear of death because, like terrorists, he is ready and willing to die — and he cannot and will not be jailed for taking your life. Dead bodies belong either in cemeteries and mortuaries, not in prison wards.

The authorities have said they do not know what triggered the shooting and will try to investigate the matter. But in Uganda, the word “investigate” does not normally make sense. 

The police abandon some cases as soon as they are reported. There is no history of cases being investigated decades after crimes were committed, as happens in some countries. 

Part of the reason is that the police do not have the skills and intellectual wherewithal to do the job.

Musaazi Namiti is a journalist and former Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk.
[email protected]  @kazbuk