The Directorate of Criminal Investigation bomb experts are expected to detonate an 84mm mortar bomb that was discovered in Kigumo, Murang’a county.
The bomb, that is believed to have been left behind during the colonial period, was discovered by a farm hand on Sunday after noon at Ngonda village.
The discovery attracted the attention of the locals with some suggesting that it was a missile while others thought that it was an overgrown arrowroot.
“The discovery of the bomb brought Ngonda village to a standstill, as bemused villagers milled around the object some claiming in the local dialect, that it was a ‘Karobosta’ i.e a missile, while others claimed that it was an overgrown arrow root,” DCI stated.
In a bid to find answers to their questions, the locals decided to send two children to the home of a military officer about 3 kilometers away from the scene since calls to his phone went unanswered, so that he could come and ascertain whether it was truly a ‘Karobosta’ as claimed by a majority.
Luckily, the area chief got wind of the discovery and called detectives based at Ngonda police station in Kigumo, who responded immediately.
The detectives invited experts from the Forensic Bomb Disposal and Harzadous materials unit, based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, who confirmed that object was an 84mm mortar bomb.
According to the DCI, the British forces used the bombs to flush out Mau Mau fighters in Mt. Kenya and Aberdare forest.
“The dangerous military ordinance was most likely left behind by the British forces at the height of the Mau Mau uprising in 1953, when sections of Mt Kenya and Aberdare forests suffered aerial bombardment, to flush out Mau Mau fighters,” DCI said in a statement.
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