Category Archives: Terrorism

UGANDA POLICE HAS SENT OUT AN ALERT OVER POSSIBLE FRESH BOMBING ATTACK BY AL-SHABBAB TERRORSTS DURINGTHE GENERAL ELECTION

Leave a reply

from Leo Odera Omolo

THE Police have issued a fresh terror alert against a possible attack by the al-Shabaab militants as Ugandans prepare for the 2011 general elections.

The nominations for the presidential and parliamentary candidates will be held in October and November. This will be followed by campaigns, which are normally characterised by public rallies.

The Police deputy spokesperson, Vincent Sekatte, said the terrorists could use public gatherings during campaigns to attack Ugandans.

“The threats by these people have been on and we cannot ignore them, especially when their colleagues have been arrested,” he said.

He urged the public to remain vigilant to help the Police and other security agencies fight terrorism.

“If we keep quiet, they might take our people by surprise. Those who intend to organise rallies should inform us such that we p
rovide them with protection,” he said.

End

Uganda: new terror threat by Al-Shabaab terorists against nation during Ramadhan

Leave a reply

Reports Leo Odera Omolo

UGANDAN security is on full alert ahead of Idd festivities, which mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan slated for tomorrow,the government owned NEWVISION reported this morning

Al-Shabaab on Tuesday demanded that Uganda withdraws her peacekeeping troops from the war-torn Somalia, or face more attacks.

Accordingly, security has been stepped up to counter the threats, said Police spokeperson Judith Nabakooba.

“We call upon the public to be vigilant, especially during this period of Idd,” she said yesterday.

The latest threat was issued by the Islamists’ radical leader Sheikh Fuad Mohamed Khalaf ‘Shangole at a mosque in Mogadishu.

Defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye yesterday said violence will not work.

The Somali-based Islamic militants claimed responsibility for the twin bombings, which killed 79 people in Kampala on July 11.

“I advise them to try something else but not threats of violence because it will not work. It will not make us change our stand,” Kulayigye said.

The Ugandan troops are serving under the African Union force called AMISOM. “Our troops will not leave Somalia as long as the African Union wants them there,” he said. “The people of Somalia want peace and that is what took us there.”

He added: “We are not in Somalia for adventure; it is by conviction to ensure the return of peace for our brothers.
“We have been defending Uganda since February 6, 1981 and we have never backslid on that. Ugandans should remain vigilant and let us know of suspicious people.”

The militants on Tuesday accused President Yoweri Museveni of becoming an obstacle to stability in the war-torn Somalia and warned him not to send more troops to Somalia.

Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers are assisting the Somali Transitional Federal Government. Uganda recently sent 750 troops of the 10,000 more soldiers it pledged during the recent AU summit in Kampala.

AU officials said last week AMISOM’s troop level had recently risen to 7,200. The force is seeking a more robust mandate that would allow it to hunt down insurgents.

Uganda’s fight against al-Shabaab has received a boost from several countries since the July 11 attack. The US, Britain, Kenya, among others, rushed investigators to work with the Kampala team, leading to the arrest of over 50 arrests.

In fresh investigations, two more Kenyans were early this week arrested in connection with the blasts. Habib Sulaiman Njoroge was arrested at the Kenya-Uganda border post of Malaba while trying to sneak into Uganda. Also arrested is journalist Habib Suleiman working for an FM station in Mombasa.

A total of 34 suspects have been charged with terrorism, murder and attempted murder. Among them are Ugandans, Kenyans, Somalis and one Pakistani.

Ends

Uganda: Man suspected of Kampala twin bombing confesses his link to Al-qaeda group

Leave a reply

Report By Leo Odera Omolo

MUHAMOUD Mugisha, one of the suspects charged with the July 11 Kampala twin bombings, yesterday appeared at Nakawa Magistrates’ Court and recorded an extra-judicial statement.

He recorded his statement before Grade One Magistrate George Obong, after he offered to record an additional statement related to the blasts.

Mugisha, 24, is among the 32 suspects who were charged on August 16 with terrorism, murder and attempted murder at the same court. He is a resident of Kiwunya Zone, Nakulabye, in Rubaga division, but is of Rwandan origin.

The magistrate declined to divulge what Mugisha said in his confession, saying it would be prejudicial and against his work ethics.

But a source said Mugisha confessed to being an “al-Qaeda’s linkman in Uganda”. According to the source, Mugisha confessed that by the time the bombs went off, he was in Luzira Prison, where he had been charged with illegal possession of a Ugandan passport.

He was released on bail on July 29, and arrested a few days later at the Malaba border point on his way to Kenya enroute to Somalia.

The source added that Mugisha said “he is well travelled and has always made frequent trips to Kenya to meet his al-Qaeda superiors.

The source added that Mugisha confessed to being a close friend of Isa Ahmed Luyima, who has since recorded an extra-judicial statement, saying he “smuggled the suicide bomb jackets” into the country. The jackets were assembled in Somalia.

Security was tight at the court and the magistrate’s chambers were sealed off by security personnel for the entire period of the confession.

At least 79 revellers lost their lives in the bomb blasts that went off at Kyadondo Rugby Club in Lugogo and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala as they watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup final. Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Ends

Somalia: 32 people, including six MPs Killed in Hotel

Leave a reply

From: Yona Maro

Sheik Ali Mohamud
Rage, a spokesman for the al–Shabab militia,Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, in
Mogadishu, Somalia who said that members of the group’s ‘specialforces’
had carried out the attack against those ‘aiding the infidels.’ Scores
of people were killed during the attack

Somali
Minister of Information Abdurahman Omar Osman speaks on his mobile phone
in front of the Muna Hotel following an armed attack in Mogadishu
August24, 2010

A
Somali policeman is brought to Medina hospital on the back of a truck in
Mogadishu, Somalia, after being injured during fighting between
Government Forcesand Islamists Insurgents in Mogadishu, Somalia

Somali
Deputy Prime Minister Abdirahman Ibbi speaks to the media following the
armed attack on the Muna Hotel in Mogadishu

Somali government
forces walk outside the Muna Hotel in Mogadishu

People gather
around Muna Hotel, the site of an armed attack in Mogadishu

A nurse treats a
wounded civilian at the Medina hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia

Kenya & Uganda: East African States in joint efforts to combat terrorists in the region

Leave a reply

Security News By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

Kenya and Uganda have stepped up joint operations aimed at keeping on check the infiltrations of Al-Shabaab Islamist terrorist from the neighboring Somalia.

The efforts has yielded in score of suspected terrorists agents being nabbed over the weekend after being fished out of their hideouts in both Nairobi and the country’s coastal town of Mombasa. Some of them suspects in connection to the July 11, bombing of a crowded public joint in the Ugandan capital, Kampala have since been flown to that country to be enjoined in criminal charges with their accomplices already in custody in Uganda.

Reports emerging from the Kenya’s coastal town of Lamu an Island on the Indian Ocean, says Kenya Anti-Terrorism Police Unit {ATPU} disclosed at the weekend that they were holding twelve suspects they found with materials for bombs and instruction documents targeting certain installation and buildings in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The discovery, the ATPU says was made at Mpeketoni location on Lamu Island in the Indian Ocean. The Island is the closest Kenyan location to the troubled Somalia border.

Itrher sources the suspect arrested in Nairobi include a wonan and the three children in whose house suspected foreigners linked to terrorists were found hiding.

At the same time, two suspected terrorists’ agents have been arrested in Mombasa on suspected criminal, offences connected to the July 11 bombing of a crowded public joint in Kampala which resulted in the death of 76 people. They were immediately flown to Uganda where they are expected to be enjoined in criminal charges alongside their accomplices already in custody in that country.

The two were seized fro their operational hideout at the weekend in Nyali suburb of the coastal town of Mombasa.

Also in the capital, Nairobi, the police reported that they were holding six people in connection with suspected terrorist’s activities.

The other suspects in Lamu case said to be Kenyans, and the police have confirmed that they still interrogating them with the view to finding out their mission was hatched and planned and who is behind it

He group also had bomb making materials, which the sleuths believe they got from the neighboring Somalia.

“We do not know their mission, but all I can say is that we have succeeded in averting something very serious,” a police source is quoted by the STANDARD of having said this.

The suspects were arrested on Saturday morning and were later brought to Mombasa, where they were until last Sunday being grilled. And after interrogation, the suspects are said to have disclosed the location of their accomplices, whom were later picked up from their hideout in Malindi Town.

The police said they got the tips on the arrival of Tanzanian before they swiftly moved into action.

The arrests came barely a month after terrorist linked to Al-Shabaab detonated bombs in Kampala.Uganda killing more than 76 people. At least ten Kenyans are being held in Uganda over the bombing at a public joint on July 11,2010.

The latest arrests were of one Suleiman Abdi Hamed who was nabbed from his Nairobi South C Estate House in an operation mounted by teams of hooded policemen led by detectives. Te arrest three days after the Mombasa arrests over the same crime confessed by their accomplices that they were getting training in Somalia.

The arrests came after a month long of thorough investigations. The ATPU Chief at the Coast Elijah Tirop said the suspects are of Pakistani ANS Kenyan descent, adding that some seven vehicles suspected to have been stolen were also recovered in the suspect compound.

“I can confirm that the two suspect have been arrested in connection with the Kampala bombing and they will also take to Uganda an charged.” said Tirop.

He disclosed that to facilitate the arrest was a joint effort with the help of international security agencies and Kenyans sleuths. The agencies had been tipped by the accomplices of the suspects now in custody in Uganda.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

Uganda: Bomb blast suspect in court to answer criminal charges

Leave a reply

Writes Leo odera Omolo In Kisumu City

Dozens of suspects accused of involvement in the July 11 twin bombings in Kampala appearing before the Nakawa Court in Kampala yesterday

Dozens of suspects accused of involvement in the July 11 twin bombings in Kampala appearing before the Nakawa Court in Kampala yesterday

ANOTHER 32 suspects were yesterday charged with terrorism, murder and attempted murder, following the July 11 bomb blasts which killed at least 79 people in Kampala. Four Kenyans had earlier been charged over the same offences.

Each of the suspects who appeared in court yesterday faces 78 capital offences. Among the accused were Ugandans, Kenyans, Somalis and a Pakistani.

They appeared before Nakawa Chief Magistrate Deo Sejjemba in a heavily guarded courtroom. About 60 armed security officers surrounded the court premises.

Edward Ochom, the head of criminal investigations, was in charge of security at the court.

The suspects arrived at the court in two batches, handcuffed and under heavy guard. Some walked with difficulty.

Some came aboard a passenger omni-bus taxi and saloon cars with tinted windows.

The prosecutor said each of the accused were responsible for the murder of the 60 people who died at Kyadondo Rugby Club and 15 at the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala, where the bombs exploded. They also face three offences of terrorism and 10 of attempted murder.

Immediately after the accused were charged, the prosecutor applied to have them remanded in police cells for two weeks as opposed to taking them to Luzira Prison.

He explained that this would allow the Police easy access to the suspects for further investigation.

A big crowd gathered at the court but security refused them entry into the courtroom, except journalists and lawyers.

After the court proceedings, Police officers whisked the suspects away in 10 pick-up trucks to various Kampala police stations for further detention.

Ends

KENYAN agent of Somali terrorists has admitted carrying the bomb that killed 76 people

Leave a reply

Writes Leo Odera Omolo

A Kenyan national who couriered the bombs used in the July 11 explosions that claimed 79 lives, booked into a hotel in Namasuba, a city suburb, months before the blasts.

Security sources yesterday said the Kenyan checked in on May 9 with the aid of Issa Luyima, a Ugandan national said to be the chief architect of the twin blasts.

Consequently, a joint team of anti-terror operatives raided the hotel on Thursday afternoon. Security sources yesterday intimated that the operatives had gathered more evidence to reinforce their case.

They seized vital documents and a counter book in which Luyima is said to have booked the Kenyan national into the hotel on that day.

“The seizure was useful, especially the counter book in which Luyima booked the Kenyan in his own hand writing,” the source said.

The source added that the evidence would reinforce the case against Luyima and his younger brother Haruna Hassan Luyima and other accomplices for their role in the blasts.

Sources said the terrorists could have picked on the hotel because it is secluded, giving them an assured from page one

of secrecy. It is not clear how many nights the Kenyan spent in the hotel but it is becoming increasingly clear that he checked into the hotel with the explosives before handing them over to other accomplices, a source said.

Security agents on Thursday paraded four suspects, the Luyima brothers, Edris Nsubuga and Mohamood Mugisha, in connection to the blasts.

There are 81 suspects in total, being held in connection with the attack linked to international terrorist cells of the Al-Qaeda and the Al-Shabaab.

Preparations were in high gear yesterday to have the four suspects arraigned with 14 others on charges of terrorism, sources said.

In a related development, three Kenyans charged two weeks ago over the bombs, have been removed from Luzira Prison and handed over to the Police for further investigations.

Hussein Hassan Agad, Mohamed Adan Abdow and Idris Magondu a.k.a Christopher were the first suspects to be charged. “I order the release of the three suspects into custody of the Police to enable them conclude their investigations,” Nakawa Chief Magistrate Deo Ssejjemba directed yesterday.

A letter signed by Joan Magezi, the senior principal attorney said the Police needed the suspects to identify exhibits. They face charges of murder, attempted murder, and terrorism and could face death if convicted.

Meanwhile the father of two the bomb suspects, Hajji Nondo Luyima, has said his children refused to go to school when they were young but had become prosperous businessmen.

Luyima said he did not know where Haruna Luyima and Isa Luyima got the money to become prominent in business until they were arrested over the bombs.
The two on Thursday asked Ugandans to forgive them for bombing world cup fans.

Their father said they had been living in Kenya where they claimed to have several businesses. The two were arrested by Kenyan authorities.

Luyima, a resident of Kawempe, said he has over 30 children.

“I failed to control those two when they were young.” Their elder sister, Sumaya Namigadde, said clan elders had queried the two brothers’ source of wealth. “They came home recently driving powerful vehicles and the clan members were concerned but they refused to explain.”

Suspects in custody
1.Abdul Karim Kato
2.Mariam Namaku
3.Isa Ali Senkumba
4.Peter Ntale
5.Fazila Namaku
6.Hussein Aliyowi Abdi
7.Andrew Obelai
8.Andrew Kanyoro
9.Muhammad Keche
10.Hassan Abdu Isaac
11.Echeku Vincent
12.Isaac Gedi Godana
13.Muzamiru Kawumbire
14.Gulfan Zameer
15.Ramula Nagudi
16.Inam Ul Haq
17.L/Cpl Koss Alfrred
18.Shakeel Ur Rehman Qureshi
19.Abdullahi Muhamod Ahmed
20.Waseem Afzal
21.Saidi Sulaiman
22.Muhammed Abdul Aziz
23.Abdul Aziz Ali Madope Aka
24.Ali- Ibrahim
25.Kaala Isaac
26.Inayatula Ullah
27.Muhammad Abdallah
28.Salat Ahmed Alasom
29.Omar Jimale
30.Bile Abdullah
31.Waris Mungayi
32.Kavuma Ibrahim
33.Kanyoro Andrew
34.Abushiri Yusuf Muhammed
35.Jairan Karim
36.Biraze Ku 2
37.Mubaraka Juma Dawa
38.Yunus Maganda
39.Obina Ismail
40.Medi Abdallah Saleh
41.Yusuf Balimuntale
42.Hassan Kasim Salah
43.Ahmed Hassan Barkhadle
44.Abdullahi Muhamoud Ismail
45.Muhamed Abdullahi
46.Bashir Abdul Khadir Medle
47.Abdullahi Omar Guleed alias Mutuyangu
48.Kasaya Patrick
49.Mulinde Robert
50.Fahdi Abdul Rahman
51.Muhammad Adam
52.Muhammod Musa Fara
53.Liban Muhammad Ali
54.Daudi Ibrahim Hassan
55.Abdi Hassan Ismail
56.Rihan Muhammad
57.Md Aka Muhammad Kasim
58.Ahmed Abdulah Muhammed
59.Ahmed Abdulah Muhammed
60.Magumba Abdul Hakim
61.Hassan Muhammad Abou
62.Jackson Omolo
63.Naufal Zamir Shiekh
64.Baturaine Christopher
65.Ali Yahya Hussein
66.Anthony Kiarie
67.Moses Mwenda Meme
68.Nangayi Keneth
69.Isaac Kibede
70.Manga Mubarak Salim
71.Muhammad Ahsan Raza
72.Abdallahi Hussein Ali

Ends

Uganda & Kenya: Police says terrorists are infiltrating Uganda via Kenya borders

Leave a reply

Reports leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

INTERNATIONAL terror cells have been operating recruitment cells in eastern Uganda, investigators said yesterday.

Speaking to journalists at the Kampala Media Centre, Police boss Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura said the cells stretched from Mable, Soroti, Kitgum to the Uganda-Sudan border.

Kayihura added that the terrorists were conscripting children and hawkers whom they hoodwink with big money.

So far 81 suspects, he said, had been arrested, 22 of whom will be charged with terrorism.
Eight suspects will be handed over to the immigration department, while 27, referred to as a special group, will be detained. Some 24 others will be released on Police bond, he said.

“The eight Pakistanis arrested preaching in Pallisa were initially in Kasese recruiting children and indoctrinating them in Madarasa (Koran schools). The next thing, they were in Pallisa without documents,” Kayihura said.

Intelligence says Ugandan, Kenyan, Tanzanian, Rwandan and Burudians are being trained jointly by the al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab in Mogadishu.
Kayihura said four bombs in suicide vests were smuggled into Uganda from Somalia, assembled locally and later used in the attacks. He said though the attacks were carried out by Ugandans, the planning was by al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab.

“The attacks were planned by terror cells of the al-Qaeda and the al-Shabaab and this was an international terrorist operation,” Kayihura said.

International terrorists sneaked into the country between April and May to plan the attacks and left after surveying the two scenes of the blasts––The Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala and the Kyaddondo Rugby Club in Lugogo, he disclosed.

He said the initial plan was to have four suicide bombers but some of them developed cold feet and fled the country. “They left behind two suicide bombers and that is why they decided to use detonators.”

Present were Abas Byakagaba, the counter-terrorism boss, and Moses Sakira, the criminal investigations head.

“This success has been because of the joint effort of the various security agencies led by the Police,” Kayihura said.
He warned terrorists. “If they think they are safe anywhere in the world, they are mistaken. We are networked and we will catch them,” he said.

The bomb in Kabalagala, Kayihura said, was detonated by a Kenyan suicide bomber identified as Kaka Suli. One of the bombs at Lugogo was detonated by a Somali and the second by a Ugandan, Edris Nsubuga. The fourth bomb recovered from Ice Link Discotheque in Makindye, a day after the grisly blasts, failed to detonate because it mal-functioned, Kayihura added. “It failed to go off because of a technicality,” he stressed.

Initial reports had intimated that the suicide bomber could have developed cold feet.

Kayihura said some of the Ugandan suspects had fought alongside al-Shabaab in Mogadishu against AU forces, and that Luyima had been implicated in the November 2002 attempt to shoot down an Israeli Arkia plane in Mombasa.

Ends

Uganda: Al-Shabaab Somali terrorist trains more in Uganda as suspect bombers confesses

Leave a reply

Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

FOUR key suspects who confessed to involvement in the bomb blasts were paraded before journalists yesterday.

TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Idris Nsubuga, Mohamood Mugisha, Haruna Hassan Luyima and Issa Ahmed Luyima

Two of them, Edris Nsubuga and Haruna Hassan Luyima, cried over the pain their actions caused. Issa Luyima and Haruna Hassan Luyima are brothers, while Nsubuga is their friend. The fourth suspect was identified as Mohamood Mugisha.

“I am very sorry for the loss of life. I was hesitant to pick on Ugandans. My target was the Americans, who I think are responsible for the suffering in the world. I am very sorry to the people, who knew me,” Issa Luyima, described as the mastermind of the blasts, said without emotion.

“I am a peace-loving person but that is the nature of war. It has got many dimensions,” he asserted.

Nsubuga’s eyes welled with tears and his voice cracked as he spoke.
“I was used. Issa was so calculative in using me. To you all, I am a monster but I had emotional problems and this is what they capitalised on,” he said.

Handcuffed and dressed in jeans, T-shirts and jackets, the healthy-looking men aged between 24-33 years, narrated their role in the attacks, which killed 79 people, the Police said.

Ironically, Nsubuga’s auntie Margaret Nabankema, was also killed in the attack in Kyaddondo Rugby Club grounds in Lugogo, Kampala as revelers watched the World Cup final.

Haruna, who sobbed before the news conference began, and Mohamood Mugisha, said they were sorry for not reporting the crime.

They said they were not paid any money, except a reward in heaven.
The suspects were produced by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence boss, Brig. James Mugira.

They said they were speaking voluntarily. Mugira said this reflected how professional the probe had been.
Security, Mugira stressed, was on high alert, adding that another attack was “very unlikely”. “If people think that they can attack Ugandans and get away with it, they are wrong because we have the capacity to hunt them down,” he said.

“We promised the public that we would hunt down the perpetrators of this cowardly and barbaric act and bring them to justice,” Mugira stated. “We have kept our promise.”

The hunt for more accomplices was still on, according to Mugira. He was flanked by army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye.

“If your children are getting involved in such activities, getting radicalized, inform us immediately,” Mugira stated. He hailed Kenyan and other countries’ security agencies for assisting Uganda to arrest suspects.

Haruna Hassan Luyima, 27
He is a businessman based at Majestic Plaza in Kampala. Speaking in Luganda, he said he took the Kenyan suicide bomber to Kabalagala and a bomb to Makindye House in Kampala. On July 9, Issa Luyima called me and said he wanted to show me where I would put a bag he had showed me earlier. He came with Edrisa Nsubuga (the other suspect).

On July 10, he took me to his home in Namasuba and I met a Somali and a Kenyan. Issa showed me a bag that I was to take to Makindye House. On July 11, along with the Kenyan suicide bomber, we took a boda boda to Kabalagala.

The bomber proceeded to the Ethiopian Village Restaurant. I went with the other bomb to Makindye but I did not detonate it. I dumped it in a shrub and left.

Edrisa Nsubuga, 30, businessman at Pioneer Mall in Kampala and a Bachelor of Commerce student of Makerere University:
Speaking in English, he said he took the Somali bomber to Lugogo and detonated the second bomb and studied the scenes. On July 11, we took a boda boda to Lugogo. I put a laptop bag that contained one of the bombs on a stool under a table. When a scuffle ensued over a phone, we used the opportunity to get in. Before the Somali joined other revellers, he showed me his clock, which had the time 11:15pm when the bombs were to go off.

I got out and later, a blast went off. I used the phone I had to set off the second bomb. Asked why he did such a thing, he said: “I was unemployed. I was emotionally distressed. I had problems. A lot of misunderstandings with my wife.”

Issa Luyima, 33, the key suspect and “foot soldier” in al-Shabaab fought with the militants in Somalia.
He studied at Brilliant and Kawempe High School in Kawempe before working at Kampala International University.
Speaking in English, he said he recruited his brother (Haruna Hassan) as well as the Somali and Kenyan bombers and he examined the target places. My rage was against the Americans whom I deemed were responsible for all the sufferings of Muslims around the world. Our aim was to kill Americans.

I did not want to work with my brother but recruiting other people was very risky, so I manipulated him.

Mohammed Mugisha, 24
The man, who looks older, is alleged to have links with al-Shabaab. Speaking in Luganda, he said: “I joined al-Shabaab in 2008, they were coordinating with al-Qaeda. I was sent here to rent a house in which the bombs were to be planned. I got a house in Nakulabye (a city suburb).

However, when an al-Shabaab team inspected it, they did not like it because they saw soldiers nearby.
I went back to Kenya where I was reprimanded for the mistake as we could easily be arrested.

The order to kill was from Abu Zubair, the al-Shabaab boss in Somalia

Ends

Uganda: 3 brothers are in police custody in connection to the Kampala terrorist bomb attacks

Leave a reply

Reports LeoOdera Omolo

THREE Ugandan brothers are among six fresh suspects netted in connection with the July 11 bombings in Kampala in which over 76 people perished and at least 50 were injured.

Among them is the mastermind of the twin suicide attacks identified as Issa Luyima. He was picked up from the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa, where he fled on July 10, a day before the blasts.

“This is a turning point in the investigations. We now have the exact person behind the attacks,” a source said.

Luyima and the other suspects were flown to Uganda over the weekend after interrogation by Kenya’s anti-terror squad.

Sources said Luyima hired the two male suicide bombers and ferried them to the Kabalagala Ethiopian Village Restaurant and Lugogo grounds where they blew themselves up, killing and injuring dozens of revellers who were watching the final of the soccer World Cup.

The bombers were identified as Kenyan and Somali nationals. The third bomb at Ice Link Discotheque in Makindye, also a Kampala suburb, did not go off. A cell phone and a suicide vest were recovered from the bar.

Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the blast, which they described as retaliatory for the presence of Ugandan peace-keepers in Somalia.
The Kenyan and Somali reportedly rented a three-room house in Paraa zone, Namasuba, a Kampala suburb, where they hatched the attack.

Luyima “coordinated” the plot and asked one of his brothers to detonate the bomb at Ice Link discotheque. However, the bomber developed cold feet when he saw the huge crowd of revellers at the bar.

“He said there were very many people and feared that a big number would die,” the source stated.

Investigators also said the bomb could not explode since the other phone attached to the device had not been turned into vibration mode.

The suspect later dumped the phone, which was to activate the bomb, into a pit-latrine in Namasuba, the investigators said. The phone and another believed to have set off the second bomb at Kyadondo have been recovered.

Luyima’s brothers have confessed to involvement in the attacks, but said it was his idea. Luyima’s livelihood is unknown.

Up until now, detectives believed the Kyadondo attack was carried out by a lone suicide bomber, but it has emerged that another person, also in custody, was in the crowd on the fateful day.
The man walked a few metres away before setting off the device using a cell phone.

The latest arrests brings the number of suspects to about 77. The detainees include Pakistanis, Somalis, a Yemeni national and Ugandans.

Three suspects, Idris Magondu, 42, Hussein Hassan Agade, 27, and Mohammed Aden Abdow, were a week ago charged with 89 offences which included terrorism, murder and attempted murder.

US foreign office on Thursday reported that 12 men accused of aiding the al- Shabaab are on the run. The Federal Bureau for Investigation has placed huge sums on their heads.

They are Abdikadir Ali Abdi, 19, Abdislan Hussein Ali, 21, Cabdulaaahi Ahmed Faraax, 33, Farah Mohamed Beledi, 26, and Abdiweli Yassin Isse, 26, all American citizens of Somali origin.

Others are Ahmed Ali Omar, 27, Khalid Mohammad Abshir, 27, Zakaria Maruf, 31, Mohammed Abdullahi Hassan, 22, and Mustapha Ali Salat, 20.

The 12 men plus two women Amina Farah Ali, 33, and Hawo Mohammed Hassan, 63, are accused of soliciting donations for al-Shabaab activities.

Ends

Uganda: UPDF is now training newly recruited Somali government soldiers

1 Reply

Writes Leo Odera Omolo

FRESH Somali trainees of the Transitional Government Forces have recorded success in different encounters with the al-Shabaab militants.

Speaking at their training camp at Al-Jazeera in Mogadishu, some of the trainees said they were eager and ready to fight the militants to restore sanity in their country.

In the last few weeks, the Ugandan-trained Somalis have been involved in several battles with the al-Shabaab.
Recently, the soldiers pushed the al-Shabaab out of their bases in Bondere with the support of the Africa Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

“I have been at the frontline to asses our trainees. They are holding their ground,” said UPDF’s Maj. Sam Wasswa, the AMISOM training officer.
Wasswa cited areas like the African Village in the centre of Mogadishu that is firmly held by the trainee fighters, despite the endless attacks from al-Shabaab.

He also dismissed reports that some of the soldiers within the force had defected to al-Shabaab.

“Such claims are not true. They are propagated by the enemy,” he said.
The peacekeepers, under the AMISOM, have so far trained over 3,800 Somali soldiers and policemen. Over 400 others will soon pass out.

At the completion of the nine-month basic training course in Uganda, the Somalis return home for an induction course at Al Jazeera.

“We need about 10,000 Somali soldiers to control Somalia, but it will take time to raise the number,” Wasswa said.
At the training camp, which also doubles as the base for the Burundian contingent, the mood is hopeful.

One of the soldiers described the training as a good move that will help them bring peace to their country.
“We shall be equipped to fight and liberate our country,” said one of the trainees.

Most of the training is carried out by the UPDF with the help of translators from Kenya and Somalia.

Currently, the thin line of Somali fighters on the ground is the major impediment to bringing total peace in Somalia, according to AMISOM commanders.

AMISOM has slowly taken control of a-third of Mogadishu, but their task has been hampered by lack of enough support from the transitional government forces.

“Our major mandate is to train them,” said Wasswa.

On Sunday, AMISOM spokesman Maj. Ba-Hoku Barigye, reminded the trainees of their responsibilities to defend their country.

“This is your country. No one will solve its problems. You have to do it yourself,” Barigye told the soldiers.

Meanwhile, UPDF spokesperson, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, yesterday said three foreign fighters and seven al-Shabaab militants were killed at Masla Camp near Pasta factory in Mogadishu, when a Mitshubishi Pajero vehicle laden with explosives for a suicide mission, exploded accidentally.

In a statement issued yesterday, Kulayigye said in another incident, al-Shabaab fighters fired a mortar bomb in Hamar Weyne, close to Uruba Hotel, which landed on a mosque. The mortar bomb exploded, killing three civilians and injuring one.

In a related development, African Union and government troops launched an offensive against the Islamist rebels on Monday and repulsed them from two strategic locations.

Barigye said one of their soldiers was wounded in the latest clashes.

“One of our armoured vehicles was burned after it was hit, injuring the driver.

“But the government forces took control of the former interior ministry building area from the insurgents,” he told AFP.
At least 11 people, mainly militants, were killed in the fighting, officials said.

“We have pushed the enemy back from some of their locations in northern Mogadishu today. We killed four of their fighters and unfortunately three of our soldiers also died during the clashes,” said Hasan Abdulahi, a Somali security official.

Ends

Ugandan Police are holding a girl friend of the suspected suicide bombers

Leave a reply

Reports leo Odera Omolo in kisumu city

THE girlfriend of one of the suicide bombers who attacked two venues in Kampala, killing at least 76 people about two weeks ago, has been arrested by the Police.

Three other suspects have also been detained in Kenya over the attacks, sources said yesterday.

Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura said the woman had links with the man who set off the bomb at Kyadondo Rugby Club, where soccer fans were watching the World Cup finals. The man was Eritrean, he said.

The woman is helping the Police with the investigation, Kayihura added.
Following the bombings, the Police issued three hotlines for the public to relay information on the attackers.

It was not clear if this is how the Police learnt about the woman, who joins over 20 suspects undergoing interrogation over the attack for which al-Shabaab militants based in Somalia claimed responsibility.

Kayihura also revealed that the Police had interrogated Jamal Abdula Kiyemba, the Ugandan once detained at Guantanamo Bay over the September 11, 2001 terror attack on the US in which thousands perished.

Kayihura said an informer saw Kiyemba, 31, and alerted security. “He was picked up and interrogated but the team did not find any connection between him and the attackers and was freed,” he stated.

Without elaborating, Kayihura added that the investigations were “progressing smoothly” and promised to publicise the findings soon.

Sources said three more suspects had been arrested in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. They played a major role in the Kampala bomb blasts, the source explained.

The suspects are due to be extradited to Uganda to face interrogators who include America’s FBI agents, the source added.

Ends

Tanzania: Nation’s forces in the high state of alertness following the bombing of Ugandan City

1 Reply

Reports Leo Odera Omolo

REPORTS emerging from Dar Es Salaam says that Tanzania has stepped up its border security in the wake of the Kampala twin terrorist bomb attacks that claimed the lives of 76 people.

The Tanzania Peoples Defense Force {TPDF} says in a press statement that fending the country’s border is a daily activity, but now that the soldiers are more alert than ever before.

The Defense and National Service Minister Dr. Ali Mwinyi was early this week quoted by press as saying East African armies are currently holding joint security meetings regarding the security of the regional economic bloc.

The Minister said that the situation in Mogadishu needs a joint effort to restore peace and political stability before the terrorist spreads to the rest of East Africa –the immediate neighbors of the conflict prone country in the Horn of Africa.

Asked as to when Tanzanian troops will be send to reinforce the peacekeeping forces in Somalia, the Minister said,” we are yet to reach a conclusion” without indicating when the government will decide over the issue.”

East African countries have all voted to increase the peacekeeping troops in Somalia from 6,100 to 8,100.

Dr Mwinyi also said that the TPDF is not training soldiers for the Somali Transitional Government, which the Al-Shabab militia, widely seen as being responsible for the Kampala attacks is hell-bent to overthrow.

Al-Shabaab, it has bee noted, has never before attacked any targets outside Somalia. The July 11 attack in Kampala was the first one, but it came after the Mogadish based terrorists had warned both Uganda and Burundi governments about its planned vengeance actions. The two Eastern African nations which are members of the enlarged East African Community are the sole contributors of troops to the AMISOM.

At the same time Tanzania’s opposition politicians have appealed to the EAC and the au to pursue a diplomatic approach to restore sanity and peace in Somalia.

The opposition groups have also severely criticized the government of Tanzania for being indecisive on whether to send peace keeping troops to join the AMISOM -the African Union Mission in Somalia.

NCCR-Mageuzi secretary general Sam Rubuza has been widely quoted I the local media as saying that the situation in Mogadishu cannot continue being handled with “kid gloves, adding “The EAC stands to suffer more if Somaia unrest continue. We need to take a keener interest in the situation there.” Said opposition chief.

But Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe made t categorically clear that the military solution will not work in Somalia. He warned that countries sending troops to serve with the AMISOM peace keeping forces in Somalia are only opening up themselves to terrorist attacks. “Military action is not the solution. The violence breeds violence and more misery.”

The solution in the Somalia conflict turned religious war requires a full scale international diplomacy, which should work as a process and not an event to end the civil strife there once and for all.

‘We need a serous social engines to intervene [ in the Mogadishu strife}after studying its root cause and using diplomacy to attack the situation without causing more pains to the people in that troubled country”, said Mr Mbowe.

The Chadema boss cited military actions which have failed to solve political conflicts in other countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and which have since degenerated to religious conflicts and wars.

Ends

Uganda: The explosives that killed 76 Ugandans were smuggled into the country by agents of death

Leave a reply

Writes Leo Odera Omolo

THE suicide bombs which rocked Kampala city on July 11, killing 76 people were smuggled into the country in June from a neighbouring country, investigators said yesterday.

“The bombs were assembled outside Uganda and only smuggled into the country, packed in boxes,” a source said.

The details emerged after the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force and America’s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) interrogated several suspects in connection with the attack.

The suspects were interrogated at a Police station in the city amid tight security. The inquiry is also focused on reports that the attackers may have smuggled in more bombs than the number they used. The investigations had yielded “vital information”, according to the sources.

The sources said the number of suspects had shot up to 43, some 16 of whom are Pakistanis, 11 Somalis and eight Ugandans. The identities of the other seven are not established. Earlier reports had put the number of Somali suspects to 20.

Last evening, another suspect, a Nigerian, was arrested from Busia and transferred to Kampala.

Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the three bomb blasts which ripped through a crowd of fans watching the World Cup soccer final at the rugby club in Lugogo and at an Ethiopian restaurant in Kabalagala, also a city suburb. A fourth bomb failed to explode at Ice-Link Discotheque in Makindye.

The investigating team is made up of the Police anti-terrorism unit, the Chieftancy of Military Intelligence, the internal and external security organisations.

FBI agents joined their Ugandan counterparts in interrogating the Pakistanis, many of them heavily-bearded in white, dirty tunics.

The Pakistan High Commissioner, Dr. Manzoor Chaudry, flew in from Nairobi and together with Dr. Boney Katatumba, the Consul of Pakistan in Uganda, visited the suspects. Chaudry and Katatumba also met Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura.

“The high commissioner came to pay condolences to the Government and the people of Uganda and express solidarity with the people of Uganda. We visited the suspects and met 15 of them in different locations,” Katatumba said.
Katatumba added that they supported the investigations.

“Pakistan has suffered from the same crime and we expressed our willingness to share information on any of the suspects,” he said.

Interpol and FBI circulate photos
International Police (Interpol) has issued black notices for the two suspected suicide bombers behind the attacks, following the reconstruction of their photos.

The notices were issued on the request of Uganda Police. A black notice is issued in order to seek information on unidentified bodies. The notices were circulated to the 188 member states.

The FBI is also seeking information on the identity of the two suspected suicide bombers, whose heads were recovered from the scenes of the blasts. Information can be forwarded to its website, http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/uganda.htm.

In a statement, the FBI appreciated “the complete support from Kayihura and the Police Force”. It added that the US had been victim to serious terrorist attacks and it had learned that “partnerships were critical” in investigating and preventing them.

“As part of the investigation, the FBI and Uganda law enforcement officials are seeking information regarding the identity of the two suicide bombers.

Photos have been reconstructed to demonstrate how the two suspected male bombers may have appeared,” the statement added.

Ends

AU lauds Uganda’s firm stance against al-Shabaab islamist terrorosts

Leave a reply

Writes Leo Odera Omolo

THE African Union (AU) delegates meeting at the Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala have lauded Uganda for her resolve to fight terrorism on the continent.

The AU also sent condolences to the Government and families that lost relatives during the July 11 terrorist attacks. This was during the screening of the finals of the World Cup at Ethiopian Village restaurant in Kabalagala and the Kyadondo Rugby Club in Lugogo.

Speaking during the opening session of the permanent representatives committee, officials said the AU stood in solidarity with Uganda.

The delegates observed a minute of silence for the over 70 victims who died in the bomb attacks and prayed for the quick recovery of those who got injured.

The chairperson of the permanent representatives committee, Dr. Isaac Mbuya Munlo, observed that the AU recognises the leadership and sacrifice the Government of Uganda was making for Africa.

“We had to express our condolence because as we match towards integration of our continent, an injury for one is an injury for all of us. So, we share the pain with you (Uganda),” Dr. Munlo said.

Foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa said the terrorists cannot be allowed to hold the continent hostage.

“We cannot allow terrorists succeed to instill terror in the people of Africa. It’s the reason we are here to deal with the socio-economic problems hindering the development of Africa,” Kutesa said.

The minister thanked the AU for its sympathies to Uganda.

“That you are here in great numbers after the attacks shows you are in solidarity with the Government of Uganda. I hope your heads of government will show solidarity and turn up in big numbers.”

Uganda and Burundi are the only African nations that have contributed troops to the AU-backed AMISOM peace-keeping mission in Somalia. Militants opposed to the transitional federal government in Somalia, led by the Al-shabaab militia, have demanded that Uganda and Burundi withdraw their troops or face attacks.

After the July 11 terrorist bomb attacks, Al-Shabaab proclaimed that it was the beginning of their retaliatory attacks on Uganda for deploying in Somalia.

“Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry makes us happy. May Allah’s anger be upon those who are against us,” an al-Shabab commander, Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa, told The Associated Press after the attacks.

Security in Kampala is tight and the Police have so far arrested 20 suspects believed to be responsible for the bomb attacks.

Kutesa observed that the continent needed to deal with the challenges of integration and to eradicate the mass poverty through socio-economic transformation.

The chairperson of the AU commission, Jean Ping, urged AU members to show a united front, promote the use of one language and exhibit reciprocal trust on matters dear to the continent.

“When conditions require, we have shown that Africa can respond to defend our interests,” Ping remarked.

He saluted Africa on hosting the 19th edition of the football World Cup, the first on the continent, played from June 11 to July 11, in South Africa. He also congratulated Nelson Mandela, the iconic father of South Africa, on his 92nd birthday.

Ping announced that Libya will host the Afro-Arab and the Africa-Europe summits in in October and November respectively. Uganda last hosted the AU, then the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU), in 1975.

The theme of the AU summit convening in Munyonyo is “maternal, infant and child health and development in Africa”.

Ends

Ugandan police released names and images of the last week/s suspected bombers

Leave a reply

From: Leo Odera Omolo

THE Police yesterday released reconstructed photos of the two men believed to be the suicide bombers who carried out last Sunday’s deadly twin bomb blasts in the city that claimed 76 lives and left more than 50 others injured.

The front view of the suspected Ugandan bomber, upper right is the side view of the suspected Ugandan bomber. And below, the front view of the suspected Somali bomber and bottom right is the side view the suspected Somali bomber

The photos, portraying how the suspects could have looked like, were reconstructed using computer technology from the two heads of the suspected suicide bombers recovered from the Ethiopian Village Restaurant, Kabalagala and Kyadondo Rugby Club, Lugogo.

Police chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura described the reconstruction as a major achievement which would bolster investigations.

Both Interpol and the American Bureau of Investigations (FBI) he said, had accepted to upload the reconstructed photographs of the suspects on their websites, which he said will help with identification.

Kayihura released two hotlines–– 0800299991 and 080019908 and appealed to the public to volunteer any information on the two, saying such information would be treated with confidentiality.

In addition, he said, the public could volunteer information by way of short message services (SMS) to 999.

Kayihura added that such information could also be sent to the Police website on www.upf.co.ug/comments/php.

Lots of useful evidence, he said, had been collected by all agencies taking part in the investigations and he was optimistic that it would lead to a breakthrough.

“I call on any person who was at the scenes or vicinity and could have taken photos or video before or after the blasts to share them with the Police,” Kayihura said.

One of the beamed images was dark, while the other bore strong characteristics of a Somali.
Ends

“Our suspicion that these could be the suicide bombers behind the attacks is based on the fact that whereas all other bodies were identified and claimed by the relatives, these two, which were also clearly recognisable have not been reclaimed,” he said, adding that one head was recovered from Kyadondo and the other from Kabalagala.

The Police chief said there was overwhelming evidence, pointing to the fact that the blasts were executed with “strong external or foreign influence.”

Explaining the double blasts at the rugby club, Kayihura said, one bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber and the second was planted under the table.
“Whereas the first killed a lot of people, the second did not,” he said.

The Police, he said, was holding more than 20 suspects, among them some Pakistani nationals who were arrested in connection with an e-mail that linked one of them to the al-Shabaab.

One of the Pakistani had been mentioned in an email sent by a presumed al-Shabaab as having links with the Islamist group.

The e-mail seen by The New Vision claimed that there was an al-Shabaab operative residing on Bukoto Street in Kamwokya, Kampala.

A New Vision team visited the place on Saturday before the arrests and discovered there was a house with a tall fence reinforced with barbed wires.

Some of the occupants were armed. They declined to comment on the claims in the e-mail, saying the issues were sensitive security matters.

“We cannot at this point say that they were directly linked to the attacks but we are investigating,” Kayihura said yesterday.

“I cannot give the exact figure because our men are in the field and more arrests are being carried out while others, upon interrogation, are released if the investigators find nothing linking them to the incidents.”

He added that four Ethiopians, who had earlier been picked in relation to the Makindye explosives, had be released.

Kayihura said security had been reinforced and said the African Union summit will proceed as scheduled. He added that the Police, would be backed up by the army and sister security agencies to secure the conference

Uganda: Bombing of Kampala last week has sent shock waves and great panicking in East Africa

Leave a reply

News Analysis by Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

The terrorists bombing of the Ugandan capital, Kampala a week ago in which close to 76 people lost their lives has sent shock-waves and great panicking in the entire Eastern African region.

The incident occurred when the African Unity {AU} Summit of the African Heads of State and governments in only a week away. The Summit is scheduled to be held in Kampala on July 25, and as far as the security situation, many presidents and prime ministers of African governments expected attendance of the summit could be put into jeopardy

Many dignitaries, foreign ministers and top government officials could skip the summit on security ground, although a number of African diplomats in Nairobi were rather optimistic that the summit will go on as planned and dozens of presidents and prime minister would be in attendance as they do normally.

This year’s AU summit whose theme of “maternal and child healthcare is highly likely overshadowed by the events of last Sunday terror attack on football fans watching the World up final in a Kampala suburb of Lugogo’s restaurant.

The Al-Qaeda sponsored Al-Shabab Somali Islamist militia group has since claimed the responsibility for the deadly bomb attack. This has prompted several governments in the neighboring countries Kenya and Tanzania included to take stringent security precautions against any possible terrorists attacks.

This is because days after the al-Shabaab twin bombing attacks in Kampala claimed more than 76 lives, nationals of Western countries living and working in neighboring countries like Kenya and Tanzania have been asked to restrict their movements amid fear of similar attack in the region, especially in Kenya.

The expatriates in Kenya have been advised area frequented by Western nationals or maximize their time spent in such areas which include leading shopping malls, clubs, or popular coffee houses.

The largest concentration of foreigners and UN agencies make the Kenyan capital, Nairobi a new target for extremists organizations that have political or economic grievances with Western governments.

Frequent statements by the Kenya government regarding political support for the Transitional Federal Somali Government in Mogadishu {FTG} also put the country at the risk of similar attacks.

The areas which have been singled out as possible danger spots include the shopping malls, expatriate bars and clubs, most of these facilities are located in Westland suburbs of the Nairobi and also popular public joint and coffee houses in the City center frequented by foreigners.

The al-Shabaab terrorist had in May this year issued a stern warning to the governments of Uganda and Burundi, which are the main contributors of peace keeping troops in Somalia, known as AMISOM that it will strike deep in Kampala and Bujumbura and cause the two governments and their people to cry for a long time.

The Ugandan government, which has close to 4300 troops in Mogadishu responded by ordering the registration of all Somalis living in the country and the issuing of special identification cards to the refugees and those Somalis conducting business in all parts of Uganda. The Somali residents concurred with the government and appealed to their people to comply with the hew security arrangement initiated by the Ugandan government.

The belligerent Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni reacted angrily by warning the al-Shabaab militia in Somali of a dire consequences should they dare to attack any important public and economic installation in the country. Museveni said he would hunt down the terrorist in all their hideouts

The Ugandan and Burundian troops numbering a total of 6,300 men are mainly guarding the installation and important key building under the Transitional Federal Somali government, which is recognized by both AU and Un as the legitimate government of that country..

The FTG is also recognized by some Western countries led by the United States. And fears persist that the AY summit of the heads of state and government which is scheduled to be held in Kampala on July 25,2010 might flop due to unpredictable security situation in that country.

“in the face what happened last week, it would be inappropriate either to the terrorist even to us. Let us leave it at that. We have intelligence and we are using it and the perpetrators must know that no one will sit back and watch them cause mayhem at will.” Those were the words of Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula.

Endsleooderaomolo@yahoo.com

Uganda: 74 people died and scores injured in a Kampala terrorists bomb blast attack

Leave a reply

Reportes Leo Odera Omolo In kisumu City

WHAT should have been a feisty viewing of the 2010 World Cup finals between Netherlands and Spain turned tragic as three bomb explosions ripped through the city suburbs, killing over 74, leaving scores critically injured.

By this morning (2:00am), 15 bodies had been received at the city mortuary at Mulago as ambulances and Police patrol teams ferried the injured to various hospitals. Most of the deceased were part of the revellers at the popular Kyadondo Rugby Club in Lugogo.

Survivors search for the dead and injured friends at the Kyadondo Rugby Club yesterday

The first bomb went off in Ethiopian Village in Kabalaga. The explosion went off during the half-time of the match between Spain and Netherlands. The other two went off at the Kyadondo Rugby Club in Nakawa at 11:18pm – one after the other in close succession.

The Police yesterday suspected that the Al Shabaab militants from Somalia could have been behind the attacks.

“We have been suspecting that these people could be planning something like this. At least I can confirm that 13 people have been killed in the Kabalagala incident and I am still waiting for reports from Kyadondo,” the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, said on phone last night.

Asked who he meant by “these people”, Kayihura said: “Al Shabaab.” The Kabalagala bomb, the Police said, could have been targeting foreigners.

The Police could not put a figure on the casualties at Kyadondo though eyewitnesses put the dead at more than 40. There were also unconfirmed reports of other blasts in Ntinda and Bwaise.

Over 40 were injured. By 1:00am, Kyadondo was deserted, save for the injured awaiting evacuation as security operatives sealed off the place.

Witnesses said the two bombs exploded right in front of the giant screen relaying a live telecast from South Africa.

The night was soon after punctured with sirens on racing Police patrol trucks as the Police and counter-terrorism unit moved in.

The explosions took the victims by surprise as many were blown off their chairs and others died in their seats. Many others could have been killed and injured in the pandemonium that ensued.

In Kamwokya, a suburb popularly frequented by expatriates, all was quiet save for the car park which was full of vehicles where the Dutch Community hosted a live telecast of the match at Iguana restaurant.

Ntinda, a suburb that “never sleeps”, was deserted as several bars emptied hastily. Public transport was scarce save for a few brave boda boda riders. Most revellers in groups were seen walking home, some still carrying the famous vuvuzela, a trademark of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa.

Ends

EAC & KENYA: MESSAGE TO KIBAKI FROM THE EAC CHIEF EXECUTIVE ON UHURU PARK BOMB BLAST

Leave a reply

From: Leo Odera Omolo

H.E. President Mwai Kibaki, CGH, MP
President of the Republic of Kenya
State House, NAIROBI

Your Excellency

RE: UHURU PARK BLAST TRAGEDY

It is with great shock and sadness that I have received the tragic news of the blast at Uhuru Park , Nairobi on 13 June during a prayer meeting of the Kenya Constitution Referendum campaign in which 5 people have lost their lives and many others have been seriously injured.

On behalf of the East African Community, and on my own behalf, I convey heartfelt condolences and deep sympathies to the bereaved families, relatives and friends of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident; and wish the injured quick recovery.

The East African Community is deeply concerned by the tragic incident and condemns the heinous act in the strongest terms. By their dastardly act the perpetrators of this wicked and criminal deed have attempted to disrupt the peace and tranquility of Kenya at a time when the nation was recovering from its post-election violence of 2008 and seeking national reconciliation and reform.

The East African Community wishes to reiterate its support for a peaceful and democratic conduct and determination of the Constitution Referendum based on the informed and free choice of the people of Kenya . Every effort should be made to hunt down and bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice and put Kenya firmly on the path of a peaceful, united and prosperous society.

Accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest regard.

Amb. Juma V. Mwapachu
SECRETARY GENERAL

CC: Rt. Hon Raila Odinga, EGH, MP
Prime Minister, Republic of Kenya
Treasury Building , NAIROBI

Kenya: Uhuru Park bombing, let us all say NO to violence.

1 Reply

Yesterday’s bombing incident of the NO rally is a painful experience of how we are fast degenerating into a fluid situation if the government does not take stern action against those who seem to be getting away with impunity. We have witnessed people getting away with incitement and acts of lawlessness and our police force and those charged with the responsibility to keep order in society give lukewarm reactions,now things seem to be getting out of hand.

The desperation being shown by some in their quest for for or against the KATIBA may become lethal and very dangerous if not checked, people should not be allowed to get away with any acts of lawlessness whichever side of the divide on this KATIBA matter they belong to. It is for this reason that the Internal Security Minister, The Police Commissioner and the body charged with dealing with inciters and hate mongers should begin to do what they are charged to do.

We must all condemn acts of lawlessness whichever divide perpetrates it, we must ask unequivocally and with one voice, that the government starts taking action against any form of impunity that is becoming fashionable by the day. The government can only vindicate itself by acting tough on anyone breaking the law, it is the democratic right of every Kenyan to chose to reject or accept the draft KATIBA without coercion or intimidation. Anybody propagating force or use of violence, hate, fear and general despondence must be apprehended and made to face the full force of the law.

It is not enough for Government to keep holding security meetings whose effect cannot be felt or which do not even start finding solutions to our already fluid and disturbing security situation. people need to start taking their jobs seriously and negligence of duty should not be accepted at all.

Otieno Sungu