A bomb blast at a bar has killed at least one person and wounded three others in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. President Yoweri Museveni says the incident appears to be an act of terrorism.
President Museveni made his comments Sunday in a series of tweets, pledging to bring the perpetrators to justice. His remarks come hours after Saturday’s explosion ripped through the Digida bar, which was crowded with people eating and drinking.
Nalweyiso Jemima, a waitress at the bar, said, “We thought they were gunshots considering the fact that this bar had been talked about in the news.” She also said, “We were shocked to see all the chairs had burned; beer bottles were broken. I turned to see a colleague’s back had been torn to pieces; another had his hand and feet torn off.”
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said their joint task force team also categorized the incident as an act of terrorism.
“Three men, disguised as customers, arrived at the eating point at around 8:30 p.m. And, amongst these three, one of them was carrying a polythene bag containing unknown items that he placed under the table where they sat. They disappeared afterwards, abandoning their package at the scene,” he said.
Enanga said the explosion covered a radius of five square meters, suggesting an improvised explosive device was used.
“Our joint team of bomb experts has established that the explosion was out of a crude device which was assembled using local materials of nails and other metallic fragments,” he said.
There has been no claim of responsibility.
Earlier this month, Britain issued an alert in which it warned that terrorists were planning attacks in the African nation, but Ugandan police say at this point there is no link between the Saturday night incident and the warnings.
