Museveni attributes Uganda blast to terror act

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Uganda's president, on Sunday said that a bomb blast at a bar that killed at least one person and wounded three others in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, appears to be an act of terrorism.

According to the president, three people entered the Digida Pork Point eatery in a suburb of Kampala on Saturday evening and left a plastic bag whose contents later exploded. 

"We regret the death of the young lady and the three that were injured. All we ask from the public is vigilance and prompt reporting to the nearest police post if they see anything suspicious. If the terror groups are operating from outside Uganda, we shall work with other African countries to go after them," Museveni said.

He also 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

Fred Enanga, Uganda's police spokesperson, confirmed that their joint task force team categorized the incident as an act of terrorism. He added that the police force has taken some hard lessons in the aftermath of the bombing.

''There are some hard lessons we take from the incident at Komamboga Ward that revolve around vigilance, observing rule of law, curfew provisions and the degree of enforcement by our territorial commanders,'' Enanga said. 

The blast occurred about two hours after the start of a nationwide dusk-to-dawn coronavirus curfew. Security forces rushed to the scene, which was cordoned off as the bomb squad picked through the site. According to the police spokesperson the act of domestic terror was carried out using locally sourced crude materials like nails and bicycle bearings with other metallic tools.  

''The attack reveals the working of a group that is not so sophisticated because they were hurriedly going through the process. The attackers were new in the area and described as strange customers that came purposely to inflict damage,'' Enanga said.