An exclusive b10 bomb was discovered in Otuke by a local last year. File photo.
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Last Updated on: 27th May 2020, 10:38 pm
May 27, 2020: A resident of Anyalima, Ogor sub-county in Otuke district has discovered a ‘rusty’ bomb.
A b10 bomb [the most lethal] of 82mm projectile was detonated successfully, Mr Robert Abak, the Otuke Resident District Commissioner [RDC] said, Tuesday evening during an exclusive interview with TND News.
According to the RDC, the killer bomb, believed to have been buried down many years ago by the LRA rebels, was discovered on Tuesday, this week.
“….this is b10 bomb, 82mm projectile. There was no need for UPDF to have it in the bush because it’s used for bringing down mamba; it was Joseph Kony [LRA leader] using it to shoot our people,” Mr Abak added.
“The detonation took place in Anyalima. It was rotten in its cage covered with a sack,” he reveals.
Asked who discovered it, he added: “Well, when people took to the Internally Displaced Peoples Camp, some moved to Lira and that area was Kony’s stronghold [camp]—that was his barrack. This bomb we have gotten today, I think he [Kony] just hid it and was waiting to use it, because it was not removed from its cage.”
How it was discovered
Mr Abak adds that it was because of current soil erosion that led to the discovery of the lethal bomb by a local resident, further stating that on receiving the news, he soon alerted the 5 Division Army Barrack.
“Filed Engineering Brigade dispatched a team of bomb experts and we went to the scene with detectors to understand if there were still more buried down and it was no more. Only one and we detonated it.”
Was it still able to explode? TND News’ Frank Oyugi asked. “…. rusty as it was, a bomb is a bomb. 82mm bomb is not a small bomb. If it shoots mamba, it crashes it, if it shoots tanker, it crashes it,” RDC explained.
He appealed to the public never to risk picking any bomb they may discover and displace it, affirming, “It’s only by God’s Grace that he or she may survive”.
“The only good thing to do is, cut a thorn and cover it and alert your Local Council One; Local Council One will alert GISU and GISU will inform my office and I will call bomb experts to come and handle it.”
The RDC thinks there are still several bombs in Otuke district. “It’s still there, I can’t say it’s not there anymore.” He added: “People ploughing land using oxen faces lesser risk because such method excavates soil compared to a hand hoe that hit the bomb directly and can explode during tilling.”
Brief history
During Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] rebels’ insurgencies across northern Uganda, Otuke district [still Lira district then] was gravely affected by LRA actions which included mass killings, abductions, property destruction; rape, among uncounted insane activities.
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