Story of the unexploded bomb found in Makindye

Kampala

It was a narrow escape for another group of World Cup soccer fans in Makindye, a south-eastern Kampala suburb that was apparently also targeted by terrorists linked to the Islamist al Shabaab militants of Somalia on Sunday.

The Uganda Police confirmed yesterday it discovered and disabled an unexploded bomb at Makindye House, a popular entertainment spot with a bar, health club and discotheque.
“For the third one I can’t tell what exactly happened – we’re just lucky that this bomb never went off,” said a relieved Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura. “The fellow who was in charge either cowardised or changed his mind.”


A light brown suicide vest with small multi-coloured crisscrossing wires and carrying among others explosives, a detonator and a set of ball bearings were yesterday displayed to a packed hall of journalists at the Uganda Media Centre. Mr Abas Byakagaba, the police head of counter-terrorism, said the device was still live and highly explosive.

“The devices look very innocent as you see them here but they are very dangerous and can be very destructive,” said Mr Byakagaba, adding that they are similar to components recovered from the scenes of Sunday’s deadly attacks at Kyadondo Rugby Club and Ethiopian Village restaurant at Kabalagala in Kampala.

By yesterday, the death toll had risen to 76 from the 74 reported on Monday. Fourteen of the dead were foreign nationals, while 60 other people are still nursing injuries in Kampala hospitals.

Makindye House’s clientele comprises mainly police and army officers coming from the nearby Military Police barracks and the Katwe Police Station. Its manager, Mr Dan Otabo, told Daily Monitor yesterday said at least 800 guests were at the bar on Sunday for the World Cup final game.

According to Mr Otabo, it was one of his waitresses, Damalie Nantongo, who saw an unattended light blue lady handbag under one of the bar corner tables next to a big loudspeaker, and carried it to the counter for safe custody. “She told me and the cashier, Genesis, that someone could have forgotten the bag, so we kept it atop the counter till the owner comes back for it,” he said. But no one claimed the bag until the hotel staff decided to open and ascertain its contents about midday on Monday.

“To our dismay, we saw a small Alcatel phone with small wires running from behind its battery and connecting to something similar to a step-down stabiliser. The phone was off and its battery cover was missing. “Knowing what had happened in Kampala the previous night, we all got scared at that point and immediately reported the suspicious bag to police and the military,” explained Mr Otabo.

Quick response
He says police response was quick and upon sight of the devices in the bag they ordered the bar and many other neighbouring businesses to immediately close, and part of the road next to this spot was closed.

“When the bomb squad arrived here, their commander just looked at this bag and said this bomb was not alone. He called for another team which brought in sniffer dogs who searched the premises and found a jacket similar to those used by journalists. It was hanging on that hedge [about 10 metres from the bar area] in a green polythene bag.

“They told us that it was a bomb – a powerful one with capacity to hit a radius of 100 metres, said Mr Otabo, whose bar was cleared at midday yesterday to resume operations.

The Police have released hotlines: 0800199088 (CPS incident room), 0800199188 (Mulago Hospital Casualty Unit) and 0800199288 (Media Centre) for the public to report suspicious occurrences in their areas.