A Galway priest (31) has been killed in an ambush in Uganda.
The incident occurred yesterday evening when Fr Declan O’Toole from Headford, Co Galway, was returning home from peace meetings in Kotido, northern Uganda. Fr O’Toole, a member of the Mill Hill Missionaries, had been in Uganda for over four years.
A gunman dressed in a soldier’s uniform stopped Fr O’Toole’s car and shot the priest and two Ugandan lay workers traveling with him. All three died at the scene.
The area of Kotido, where he was involved in peace initiatives, is a remote area containing about seven or eight different tribes at war with each other, a spokesman for the Mill Hill Missionaries told ireland.com. There are no other Irish priests in this area.
The spokesman said attempts were being made to bring Fr O’Toole’s body back to Ireland but that the heat in the area may prevent this.
"We want to bring the bodies home for the sake of the family but it’s doubtful they'll be able to so," the spokesman said. "The two local people are probably being buried today and if we can’t bring Fr O’Toole home he’ll be buried tomorrow or the day after".