Death toll in Kampala bombings now 74

KAMPALA - The number of people killed in bomb explosions at two separate venues in Kampala Sunday night has risen to 74, Ugandan authorities announced yesterday. The incident occurred as revellers were watching the 2010 World Cup finals between the Netherlands and Spain at the Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Kabalagala. The Spokesperson of the Ugandan Police, Judith Nabakooba, confirmed the development and said that the Al Shabab militants from Somalia could have been behind the attack. The militants who are said to have close ties with Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility. “We are continuing with investigations but it is likely that it was the Al Shabab militants who were behind all this,” Nabakooba said. When The New Times visited the Mulago National Referral hospital yesterday where the bodies had been taken, scores of relatives surrounded the city mortuary as they waited patiently for their dead relatives to be handed over to them. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited all the scenes where the attacks were carried out as well as Mulago hospital where survivors of the attack had been taken. He promised that the government would do everything to pursue those responsible for the attacks. “We shall go for them wherever they are. This was a cowardly act. Why should they target innocent people? If they want to fight, they should come and fight soldiers,” Museveni told mourners at Kyadondo Rugby grounds. The Inspector General of Police Maj Gen Kale Kayihura revealed that international bomb experts had been deployed to assist in intensive investigations, especially on the types of bombs that were used. “We are expecting various experts from America, Britain, and others who are coming to provide investigative assistance for the purpose of discovering the truth,” he said. Nabakooba said that by yesterday there were plans to have all the bomb victims handed over to their relatives.Officials at the Rwandan High Commission in Kampala told The New Times that they had no information of any Rwandan national among the casualties. Thousands shuttle between the two countries every day, most of them business people. Ends