Residents of Kapeeka Town, Nakaseke District are gripped with fear following an explosion that went off this morning killing at least one person, injuring two others.
According to Hon Sarah Najjuma, District Woman MP Nakaseke District, the explosion went off at around 9:30AM after one of the residents picked a suspected bomb and started hitting it with a hammer.
Residents identified the victim as Mandela Alfred, aged 23, while the injured are Asiimwe Anthony and Tukwasibwe Nelson. The three are said to be residents in the area but hailing from Kigezi sub-region.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that Mandela was a scrap metal dealer, and it is suspected that the bomb is one of the projectiles which were fired by the army into the hills where he collected it as scrap.
Besides, being inside the 1981-85 NRA Bush-war zone, Kapeeka area is used for military exercises.
Upon exploding, Mandela died instantly while Tukwasibwe sustained serious injuries on the head, chest and belly. Asiimwe also sustained injuries on arms and the head.
A 5kg hammer which he used to hit the explosive was also found at the scene.
A source confirmed that police has cordoned the scene as they wait for the bomb squad to arrive. Mandela’s lifeless body was still at the scene at the filing of this report.
It was also confirmed that Tukwasibwe has been rushed to Nakaseke Hospital for medical attention while Asiimwe is being managed at a local clinic.
The incident happens just four days after another bomb went off killing two children at Ssegalye village, Semuto Sub County in Nakaseke District, after they picked the object that looked like an orange and started kicking it like a football.
Last Friday, Pius Kiwuwa, 11, and Micheal Kiyingi, 14, died after they innocently squeezed the object with the intention of getting juice from it. A 10-month old Shield Odong survived with injuries.
The objects was later identified as a bomb suspected to have been left behind by the military during the war.
The incident follows two bomb blasts by suspected ADF terrorists that have claimed the lives of two people.
One person was killed in a bomb blast at Digida Pork Joint in Komamboga, and another died in a Swift bus explosion at Lungala in Mpigi along Kampala-Masaka Highway.