Suspected bomb explosion injures four in Nakaseke

Four people have been critically injured after a suspected bomb exploded in Kalagala village in Wakyato sub-county in Nakaseke district.

The injured have been identified as Ernest Ssendawula, the village chairman, his vice Tom Ssendege and a resident John Lubagira. The fourth person is Francis Kizza the vice chairman of the National Resistance Movement for Wakyato sub-county. 

Christopher Sseguya Kiwanuka, the Nakaseke district councillor for Wakyato sub-county explains that the four were injured after a suspected bomb they had picked from a resident’s garden fell and exploded.

Sseguya says that the explosive was first sighted by children who were digging and alerted Ssendege, who picked it and took it to Ssendawula to notify the Gombolola security officer. While still checking the explosive, it accidentally dropped on the ground, exploding and injuring them.

Isah Ssemwogerere, the Savannah Regional Police spokesperson says that policemen commanded by Nakaseke district police commander Sulait Kitaka later arrived at the scene and transferred the victims to Kiwoko hospital for treatment. He adds that police is still investigating the incident.

Speaking from Kiwoko hospital, Ssendawula says that his leg has been shattered while Lubagira had his genitals shattered. It is highly believed that the bomb could have been left by militias of the National Resistance Army (NRA) during the 1981-1986 war which ushered in President Yoweri Museveni in power.

The explosion has evoked fear that the area is not free of war materials. Several residents have been killed and other injured after bombs allegedly abandoned in bushes exploded in the Nakaseke and Luweero which were the epicentre of the war.

In October 2016, a herdsman was killed and another injured when a device suspected to be a bomb exploded at Kimotozi village in Kinyogoga sub-county, Nakaseke district.

Similarly, two people were killed and one injured when an object suspected to be a bomb exploded in Kamusenene village in Ngoma sub -county in March 2015.

In June 2019, police in Luweero recovered two grenades from Katikamu and Kamira sub-counties which were suspected to have been abandoned during the NRA war.