Suspected bomb kills three in Kampala, six injured

Feb 17, 2016

Some eyewitnesses say an unidentified man threw an object which they suspect to be a bomb into the playground.


KAMPALA - An explosive device killed three pupils in Mengo, a Kampala suburb, Wednesday evening and left at least six others in critical condition.

According to eye witnesses, about 20 pupils were playing soccer in a vacant field near Lubiri - the seat of Buganda Kingdom - when the device exploded. There was no dent on the palace.

The first victim who was killed on spot was identified as Sam Lukamba, a 10-year-old pupil of Faith Primary School. The incident occurred at about 7:20pm local time.

Some of the victims were rushed to Mulago Referral Hospital but by 8:00pm local time, two of the casualties had reportedly succumbed to their injuries. Most of the victims sustained injuries on their legs and arms.

By press time, the Police Bomb Squad was scouring the area as a team of forensic experts sealed off the scene of the attack.

'Still investigating'

It was not immediately clear whether the device was a bomb. One of the victims who succumbed to his injuries was only identified as Mugambaki.

There were conflicting accounts of what happened, with some eye witnesses saying the device was hurled at the pupils by an unidentified person.

The initial version of the incident was that the pupils picked up a device and played with it before it detonated right before them.

Stephen Tanui, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander, arrived at the scene with a team of sniffer dogs that combed the area for clues.

"We are yet to establish facts about the incident. We are investigating the matter," Tanui told New Vision.

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