Panic as children find bomb next to Kiserian church
A bomb was found at a church compound in Kiserian during a church service, a week after another one was also found in the area.
The recovery of the bomb on Sunday afternoon comes two years after a massive mop-up in the area to clear unexploded ordinances.
Panic gripped the area after the 60mm explosive was found in a flower bed next to the church.
Kajiado North police boss Farah Mohammed said that the device was old, but very lethal.
“We, however, managed to detonate it safely within the area,” he said.
Mr Mohammed said some children who were playing outside the church stumbled on the object and informed their parents.
Mr Farah said that the device could have been abandoned by the military officers who trained in the area some years back.
He, however, said that they were trying to establish who took the bomb to the church compound.
The military had pitched camp in the area for almost two months, conducting civic education for the public on how to identify the explosives.
They also taught wananchi how to secure the area before police arrive to dispose of or retrieve them.
Training missions
During the 40-day exercise code named “Operation Kinga Maisha,” 15 unexploded devices within the 18-kilometre perimeter were recovered.
The exercise was prompted by an explosion that killed five children aged between six and 12 years, who were grazing cattle when they found a deadly 40mm mortar bomb and started playing with it.
Though the Military Standing Orders require officers on training missions to account for all the ammunition they used, some of the weapons remain unexploded in the area.