The Uganda police bomb squad has diffused an explosive device in Kampala city, hardly a month after 8 people were killed in terror attacks in the central region.
The bomb was planted in a busy trading centre in Karina zone, Kibuli, Makindye Division, Kampala.
Officials said the bomb which was set to explode in the wee hours of Monday was reportedly dropped by two men who were riding on a motorcycle along Kibazo road leading up to Muyenga.
“A suspected explosive was picked by the bomb squad and taken, pending analysis,” said Luke Owoyesigire, the deputy Kampala Petropolitan Police spokesperson, when contacted by ChimpReports on Tuesday morning.
“It was picked from Karina zone, Wabigalo parish, near Kibuli, Makindye Division under Kabalagala policing division. We are waiting for a confirmatory report from the experts on it,” he added.
Eye witnesses intimated to ChimpReports that two men were seen at around 1:00am at a junction near Calvary church before leaving a bag near a perimeter wall of a local resident (Names withheld).
“When they left, we went and checked but to our shock we saw a gadget with red lights on top of the bag,” said the eyewitness.
Concerned residents swiftly contacted the area LC chairman and his defence officer who rushed to wake up all the locals in the neighbourhood to vacate their premises for safety reasons.
Bomb
On arrival, the Police 999 cordoned off the area before the bomb squads arrived. It has been established that bomb experts managed to diffuse the explosive device at around 3:00am.
Experts who spoke to this investigative website on basis of anonymity because they are not allowed to do so confirmed that this was a real bomb which was set to explode in the early morning hours of Monday.
Counter terrorism officers disclosed that terrorists could be shifting targets from the central business district due to high security surveillance by the CCTV to suburbs which are not highly monitored and could have a huge collateral damage in case of an attack.
This development underscores the fragility of Uganda’s security especially in the urban centers.
The Kibuli incident followed the arrest of Twaha Ssegujja, who is said to be the main courier of explosives for the ADF networks.
Ssegujja was reportedly involved in transporting the bomb making materials and other weapons amongst their operatives.
Police warned the public that terror threats against Ugandans and other citizens in the country still exist hence appealing to them to be vigilant.
“As the Joint Security Agencies, we continue with our operations aimed at preventing, deterring, stopping and dismantling the ADF infrastructure in the country; and any other deadly plots against Ugandans and other citizens in the country,” said police spokesperson Fred Enanga on Monday.
