Principal Judge motorcade hit by improvised bomb: Police

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Investigations by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce show that the motorcade of the Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija was hit by an improvised bomb and not shot as earlier claimed.

News about the attempted assassination of Dr. Zeija along the Kampala-Masaka highway started making rounds on social media on Saturday night. It was claimed that unidentified assailants riding on a motorcycle had showered Zeija’s convoy with a volley of bullets.

On Sunday, the Judiciary spokesperson Jameson Karemani confirmed the attempt on Dr. Zeija’s life describing it as an act of cowardice. “This was an act of cowardice and we are confident that the perpetrators shall at an appropriate time be brought to book. The Uganda Police Force has commenced investigations into this incident,” Karemani said.

The commanders of specialized security agencies comprising Crime Intelligence, Criminal Investigations Directorate, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence, Internal Security Organizations and Directorate of Forensic Science dispatched a team to the scene in Mpigi.

Upon reaching the crime scene, the investigators discovered that it was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which went off as Dr. Zeija’s convoy was passing. The bomb squad from police and army was later called on to collect the exhibits.

Speaking on behalf of security agencies, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said that the IED that damaged two vehicles in Dr. Zeija’s motorcade was built using improvised materials such as aluminium, nails, and broken bottles and plastics.

When contacted on Monday morning, Karemani said they had not yet been briefed about the new developments. The incident on the Principal Judge’s motorcade came only six days after a similar incident happened in Lwengo district where a vehicle UBJ 399A chauffeured by Alex Busasira was damaged.

Enanga says security agencies have started tracing the suspects behind the explosives. Security says the group target isolated places along the Masaka-Kampala highway where they plant and detonate IEDs.

Uganda registered several IED incidents in October and November last year, which claimed the lives of nine people including four suspected suicide bombers. The incidents happened at Komamboga, CPS, Parliament Avenue and Mpigi inside a Swift bus.

Security has urged Ugandans to remain vigilant because terror threats are still eminent.

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