Lamwo | A 47-year-old woman in Lamwo district lost her life after an unexploded ordnance (UXO) detonated while she was working in her garden.
The victim, Esther Ayao, was tending her crops in Nimu village, Pawo West Parish, Lukungu sub-county, when the device exploded, killing her instantly.
Authorities suspect the explosive was left behind during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency.
Major General Keith Katungi, Commander of the UPDF 5th Division, confirmed the incident and urged the community to exercise caution while farming.Captain Edrin Mawanda, the Division’s Public Information Officer, reaffirmed the army’s commitment to ensuring public safety.
Ayao’s body was taken to Lamwo Health Centre for a postmortem examination before being handed over to her family for burial.
This incident adds to a growing number of UXO-related casualties across northern Uganda, where remnants of past conflicts continue to endanger rural communities.
Statistical context
In November 2023, a teenage boy in Agago district was killed after unknowingly picking up an explosive device while grazing animals.
In March 2024, two children in Pader district sustained severe injuries when a UXO exploded as they played near their home.
In June 2024, a farmer in Amuru district lost his leg after striking an old landmine with his hoe, prompting renewed calls for a UXO clearance campaign.
Despite efforts by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and humanitarian organizations to clear explosive remnants of war, local leaders say many areas in the Acholi and Lango sub-regions remain hazardous.
In January 2018, security officials in Wol sub-county, Agago district detonated three mortar bombs suspected to have been left by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) combatants. They had all been uncovered by bush-fires in the area.
The same month, two pupils of Otwee primary school in Amuru district were critically injured when an anti-tank bomb exploded as they played with it.
In neighboring Kitgum district, a collection of more than 10 ammos were recovered after bushfire swept through the bushes of Tumangu village in Labongo-Akwang sub-county, about 10 kilometers north of Kitgum town.
Earlier in January 2017, six children from Libi village, Bur-Lobo Parish in Angagura Sub County in Pader District severely injured after a bomb which they were playing with exploded.
The Uganda People’s Defense Forces’ bomb experts from the Tactical Field and Combat Engineering Department in Gulu exploded tons of unexploded bombs including landmines among others in several villages of northern Uganda.
Recommendations
Community and local leaders should liaise with UPDF, especially the department in charge of the detonations so that unexploded ordnance can be safely removed or detonated
Government and Non-Governmental Organizations need to increase and specifically earmark funding for facilitating detonation exercises in the different communities in northern Uganda
Ongoing community sensitization on issues of unexploded ordnance is required to remind people of the situation and way forward during this resettlement period.
It will also show people that the silencing of the guns does not necessarily mean peace has been fully established.
By Vincent Kaguta
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