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Bomb in church causes panic amongst worshippers

December 21st, 2015 1 min read

By GEORGE MUNENE and NICHOLAS KOMU

There was a stampede when panic stricken faithful scampered for safety after an explosive was found inside a Catholic Church in Kutus during Mass.

Worshippers spotted the explosive during the 7.30am Mass at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Kutus Catholic Church and alerted the priest. Bomb experts later detonated the explosive.

It was not immediately established how many faithful were present, but the church has capacity of 2,000.

The explosive was noticed by three worshippers as Father John Njenga was conducting Mass and he alerted the rest. The frightened congregation and the priest fled from the church.

A worshipper, Mr Richard Kanyuiro, said he and his two colleagues saw the explosive as they were giving their offerings. He said they thought it was a toy. However, when they examined it closely, one of them, an Administration Police officer, discovered it was a bomb.

“We were so shocked. We informed the priest and the entire congregation,” said Mr Kanyuiro.

COMMOTION

He said they were so terrified such that they all stormed out of the church screaming. Outside the church there was commotion as the worshippers fled in different directions, fearing that device may explode at any time.

Kirinyaga County Police Commander Rono Bunei and his team arrived minutes later and cordoned off the area. Central regional police boss Larry Kieng said they suspect that a disgruntled local resident with bomb making knowledge is behind the incident.

“After analysing the device, bomb experts established that it could not cause much damage,” he said Mr Kieng.

The device was placed in a Bible rack where children sit. The church’s Catholic Men Association Chairman Paul Njeru said it was likely the bomb was planted very early. He said the church is usually opened at 7am.