Police question woman who found colonial-era bomb in Kirinyaga

What you need to know:

  • Police picked up the scrap metal dealer on Thursday, soon after ballistic experts from Nyeri County detonated the missile.
  • Mr Ndege said the government wants to establish the source of the device believed to have been abandoned by colonialists many years ago.

The woman who found a colonial era bomb in Kagumo, Kirinyaga County, has been taken for questioning by police.

Police picked up the scrap metal dealer on Thursday, soon after ballistic experts from Nyeri County detonated the missile.

"The woman is being held at Kerugoya Police Station so that she can shed light on how she stumbled upon the deadly weapon," said Daniel Ndege, Kirinyaga Central's Deputy County Commissioner.

SOURCE

Mr Ndege said the government wants to establish the source of the device believed to have been abandoned by colonialists many years ago.

"We would like to know the man who sold the bomb as a scrap metal to the businesswoman. She must help us to identify the man so that appropriate action can be taken," he added.

He said the bomb was live so it had to be detonated quickly.

WHAT HAPPENED

The trader bought many pieces of metal from a young man and took them to her home in Kagumo village.

She suspected it was a bomb when she noticed its strange appearance while taking the items out of her gunny bag.

Panicking, she fled to a nearby police post and alerted officers. An officer visited the woman's home, confirmed that the device was a bomb and called the ballistic experts.

The experts sealed off the area and exploded the bomb.