How security recovered suspected bomb near fuel station in Bunyangabu

Bunyangabu, (UG): A team of security experts Saturday successfully recovered a suspected bomb in a trench near a fuel station in Rwimi Sub County, Bunyangabu District.

Col Deo Akiiki, the army deputy spokesperson, said a team of experts was dispatched from Kavera army barracks in Hima, Kasese District, to the scene.

“…a bomb was found at the petrol station of Byaruhanga in Kadindimo Trading Center, Kadindimo Parish Rwimi sub-county. It was put in the trench a round, six meters away from the fuel pump,” Col Akiiki said.

Akiiki says, the police and the army are handling the situation on ground and called for vigilance because the situation is not good in his area of operation.

Mr George Kamugisha, the village chairperson of Kadindimo, said he was notified of a suspicious object in the trench at 7:30am by a boda boda rider whose stage is nearby. He then quickly escalated to the higher authorities.

“The situation paralysed the area from morning until 2pm when Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) experts successfully removed the suspected bomb. We suspect it was placed by ADF rebels due to our proximity to Queen Elizabeth National Park,” said Mr Kamugisha.

Following it’s removal, security personnel and community leaders conducted a sensitisation meeting urging residents to report any suspicious individuals in the area.

“As the year is concluding, we are concerned about potential disruptions by suspected ADF rebels. We are neighbours to Queen Elizabeth National Park. We have resolved that no family should host a visitor without proper documentation; such cases must be reported to the chairman first,” Mr Kamugisha emphasised.

The development follows a series of attacks in Western Uganda (Rwenzori subregion) by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the army is currently recruiting local defence unit personnel to tighten security in the areas that have been at risk.

In the neighbouring Kamwenge District, residents of Kitwe Village in Kahodo Parish, Busiriba Sub County, were alarmed when a house belonging to one of their own, Fred Karungi was razed down by fire on Saturday morning.

Three houses have so far been burned in Kitehurizi and Nyabitusi 1 village in Kamwenge District during the last two suspected ADF rebel attacks that have claimed 13 lives.