Hard lessons taken from Kampala bombing, says Enanga

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga Sunday said the forces had ‘‘taken some hard lessons’’ in the aftermaths of a Kampala City bombing that left one person dead and three others severely injured.

‘‘There are some hard lessons we take from the incident at Komamboga Ward that rotate around vigilance, observing rule of law, curfew provisions and the degree of enforcement by our territorial commanders,’’ Mr Enanga said.

Survivors late October 23 narrated horrifying scenes of some human remains blasted in the air by bomb fragments, returning ugly memories of a massive July 2010 Kampala twin-bombing that killed over 75 people.

‘‘A 20-year-old waitress identified as Emily Nyinaneza succumbed to fatal wounds while the injured are Rose Nakitto- then Annet Kiconco and Peter Ssenyonga who were critically wounded as they were closer to the explosion point,’’ Mr Enanga explained in a press briefing at the police headquarters in Naguru.

Anti-terrorism forensic officers and police observed that the explosive used in the ‘‘act of domestic terror’’ was locally made from crude materials like nails and bicycle bearings with other metallic tools.  

Three criminals with ulterior motives, police says, first befriended and even bought drinks for some revellers at the ill-fated pork joint in Komambogo before they placed the detonated package (bomb) carried in a black polythene bag under a table.

According to police, the explosive went off shortly after the trio had vanished.

Police documentation shows that the impact of the explosion set up by the unknown bombers was within a radius of about 5square metres.

‘‘They reveal the working of a group that’s not so sophiscated because they were hurriedly going through the old process. They (attackers) were new and strange customers that came purposely to inflict damage,’’ Mr Enanga.

Asked by journalist whether the attacks were politically motivated, Mr Enanga said it was too early to establish until investigations are concluded.

‘‘A female witness claims one of the bombers was donning a T-shirt with ‘People-Power.’ I mean where’s the connectivity? We’ve not come out with a clear motivation- whether it’s based on ideology or political or revenge or an act of incitement,’’ he said.

He added: ‘‘There’s no group that has come to claim responsibility of the attack.  

By 5pm Sunday, no arrests had been made as police also informed that the incident had no linkage to recent Masaka Sub-Region attacks that claimed about 26 lives in mid-2021.

Negligence

Police attributed the deadly attack to negligence amidst Covid-19 restrictions, including a 7pm-5:30am curfew since June.

‘‘This shows that each time any business owner fronts profiteering over safety of humans, they will attract such acts of terrorism,’’ Mr Enanga opined.

However, Mr Enanga said the Saturday 9pm attack ‘‘will not detract the forces from strengthening security in Uganda with stricter enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions.’’

‘‘We shall use the clues we have to trace the criminals. Security will also intensify efforts in crowded places like taxi parks, markets but public vigilance is important,’’ Mr Enanga said.

On October 14, the United Kingdom (UK) and France issued Uganda terror alerts.