Police in Adjumani district are investigating an incident of a bomb explosion which killed six children and injured five at Maji ll Refugee Settlement.
It is averred that a group of children residing at Maji ll Refugee Settlement went to the bush on a playing spree and picked an object which they didn’t know properly, tried to cut it through using Panga knife, incidentally, the object exploded killing six of them and injuring five.
According to Police spokesperson in West Nile SP Angucia Josephine, Victims are admitted to Adjumani hospital and relevant statements recorded to guide Investigations.
She said pieces of Panga knife and some fragments were recovered from the scene. All the 6 bodies are at Adjumani Hospital pending postmortem. The dead include; Joseph Otto (06yrs) Ma’di by tribe, Drago James (9yrs) Ma’di by tribe, Duku Emmanuel (7yrs) Kuku by tribe, Amaruma Isaac (11yrs)Ma’di tribe, Edema Thomas (10yrs)Ma’di by tribe and Mandre Justine (14yrs) Ma’di by tribe.
The 5 victims who are currently receiving treatment at Adjumani Hospital include; Wani Jonathan (10yrs) old Ma’di by tribe, Abao James (7yrs old), Andruga Dominic (14yrs old) and Bazio Joyce (12yrs).
“Police observation indicates that these bombs could have been suspected left behind in the bushes by former Konyi rebels who infested the area in late 1980s to early 90s as Adjumani District by then was one of the areas harboring the rebels. But now, coupled with burning of bushes in the dry spell, children are moving around the burnt bushes picking things anyhow for playing hence exposing them to such incidences,” she said.
She said; “It is therefore important for members of the community and dealers in the scrap metal business to guard against dealing with suspicious looking metallic objects found in the bushes as they could be bombs. Guardians should specifically advise their children not to play anyhow with such suspicious looking metals in order to prevent such deadly incidences.”
