JATT, CMI arrest 48 suspects in connection to bomb attacks

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce and Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence have arrested 48 people alleged to have been part of the group that planted two explosives last week leaving two people dead.

The first Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off at a popular pork joint in Komamboga, killing one female waitress Emily Nyinaneza on the spot, while three others survived with injuries.

A second IED exploded inside a Swift Bus at Lungala in Mpigi district, where one person identified as Isaac Matovu alias Muzafaru was left dead.

JATT and CMI backed by Crime Intelligence, Internal Security Organization and Criminal Investigations Directorate embarked on the hunt for the group that planted the two explosives.

Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson said the team tracked the movement based on intelligence and successfully arrested 48 suspects.

Enanga said the suspects currently detained at various police stations participated in the making of the explosives, surveillance of the areas to attack and others are believed to have helped to plant the explosives.

Security still insists that Isaac Matovu alias Muzafaru, was a suicide bomber who was trained by Allied Democratic Forces alongside Nsubuga Hamidu.

Muzafaru was the only person who died in the Swift Bus explosion and it’s reported that he was wearing a suicide vest which he detonated after his colleague disembarked at Maya along Masaka road.

Nsubuga was shot dead last month on allegations that he was trailing a prominent politician.

Muzafaru was reportedly on the wanted list of joint security intelligence for engaging in terrorist acts. But it’s not clear how a person who was on the red list escaped from Kireka, to board a bus with his explosives.

However, security has declined to reveal how and where the 48 suspects were arrested within a space of seven days.  Although JATT, CMI, ISO, CID and CI claim the explosives were detonated by ADF, the Islamic State, a well-recognized international terror group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The Islamic State alleged that they first attempted an attack at Kawempe police station on October 8. But police first rubbished the IS claims calling them fake. But on the third media address, security confirmed that indeed there was an attempted attack on Kawempe police station but it did not succeed.

Uganda police force has revealed that Israel has tipped Ugandan forces on the lookout for signs of suicide bombers. Security says most of the bombers are aged 17 to 23 years after they have been indoctrinated.

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