KAMPALA, UGANDA: The State Minister for Labour Col (rtd) Charles Okello Engola will be buried on May 13 at his ancestral home in Awangi village, Iceme sub county Oyam District, Northern Uganda, Government has said.
Engola, 64, was yesterday morning (Tuesday) gunned down by his bodyguard, Pte Wilson Sabiiti at his residence in Kyanja, Kampala over yet to be established reasons. At the time of his abrupt death, the minister as MP for Oyam North County in Oyam district.
According to a burial program released by the Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development Ms Betty Amongi, the body of her Junior minister Charles Engola will on Tuesday next week appear in Parliament week at 10 am for a state funeral as legislators pay their last respect to the deceased.
From there, the body will be transferred back to the funeral home and on Wednesday, a requiem mass will be held at Kololo Independence Grounds on Wednesday with President Museveni as the chief mourner.
After Kololo, the body will then be transferred to the deceased’s home in Kyanja at around 3pm for an overnight vigil.
And on Thursday, his casket will be airlifted to Oyam District where a joint Lango sub-region council meeting will be held at Boma grounds at 10 am to pay their tribute.
At 3 pm on Thursday, a church service will be held at St Nathan Church of Uganda in Oyam for requiem services.
The body will on Friday be transferred to Engola’s ancestral home in Awangi village ahead of his burial and final send-off on Saturday (May 13).
Profile Background
Born on October 12, 1958, to Chief (Jago) Nasan Engola and Ketula Engola of Awangi Village, Iceme Sub-county in Oyam District, Charles Okello Engola attended a local primary school in Iceme and obtained his high school certificate from Soroti Secondary School.
Engola’s first degree, a Bachelor of Development Studies, was awarded by Kampala International University (KIU) in 2010. His second degree, a Master of Public Administration and Management, was also obtained from KIU, in 2013.
It is not known when he joined the army but the colonel retired in 2007.
During the 2006 General Election, Okello Engola contested for the LCV chair in Oyam on the ruling NRM political party ticket and won in a landslide getting 93 per cent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2011, serving Oyam District as chair for a continuous 10 years.
In 2016, he was elected as Oyam North MP, a position he held until his death.
He was appointed Minister of State for Defence on June 6, 2016, replacing Gen Jeje Odongo, who was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs.
Five years later, the colonel was appointed State Minister for Labour in 2021, a position he has occupied until his death.
The late minister is survived by a widow and four children.
Do you have a story or an opinion to share? Email us on: [email protected] Or join the Daily Express WhatsApp channel for all the latest news and trends or join the Telegram Channel for the latest updates.
