An explosion in Uganda’s capital Kampala, which killed one and injured five, was “a terrorist act”, according to President Yoweri Museveni, who promised to hunt down those responsible, reported AFP.
Police said a “serious blast” occurred at around 9 pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday at a grilled pork joint in Komamboga, a northern Kampala suburb popular with roadside diners.
Museveni said he had been briefed that three people left a plastic shopping bag at the scene that later exploded, killing one person and injuring five others.
“It seems to be a terrorist act but we shall get the perpetrators,” Museveni said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
He 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.”
On October 8, the Islamic State group claimed its first attack in Uganda, a bomb attack against a police post in the Kawempe area, near where Saturday’s explosion occurred.
No explosion or any injuries were reported by authorities or local media at the time, though police later confirmed a minor incident had occurred without providing further details.
However in the following days, both the UK and France updated their travel advice for Uganda, urging vigilance in crowded areas and public places like restaurants, bars and hotels.
In 2010, twin bombings in Kampala targeting fans watching the World Cup final left 76 people dead. Somalia’s Al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for the blasts at a restaurant and at a rugby club.
The attack was seen as revenge for Uganda sending troops to Somalia as part of an African Union mission to confront the extremist group Al-Shabaab.
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