Ugandan President Says Deadly Blast A 'terrrorist Act'

Kampala, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Oct, 2021 ) :Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Sunday an explosion in the capital Kampala that killed one person and injured five was "a terrorist act", vowing to hunt down those responsible.

Police said a "serious blast" occurred at around 9 pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday at a grilled pork joint in Komamboga, a northern Kampala suburb popular with roadside diners.

Museveni said he had been briefed that three people left a plastic shopping bag at the scene that later exploded, killing one person and injuring five others.

"It seems to be a terrorist act but we shall get the perpetrators," Museveni said on Twitter.

He said investigators were still combing the bomb site and more details would be released later, including advice for the public about "dealing with these possible terrorists".

"The public should not fear, we shall defeat this criminality like we have defeated all the other criminality committed by the pigs who don't respect life," Museveni said.

Masked anti-terrorism police dressed in black fatigues held journalists and members of the public several hundred meters (yards) back from the blast site on Sunday.

Police forensic officers in white overalls could be seen examining areas close to the scene.

The explosion occurred about two hours after the start of a nationwide dusk-to-dawn coronavirus curfew.

Security forces rushed to the scene in Komamboga, a fast-growing suburb about eight kilometers (five miles) north of Kampala city center.

Roadside eateries with plastic furniture cater to local residents there, particularly young professionals moving into newly-constructed apartment buildings in the once-rural area.

Local mayor Emmanuel Sserunjogi said the bombing took place in an area popular with revellers looking for roasted meat and drinks on a night out.

"The community are frightened. It was such a terrible act. People were woken up by the sound of the bomb," he told AFP.