Scare as fishermen in Homabay 'catch' live bombs

Six bombs which were found by fishermen in Lake Victoria are yet to be detonated on Gembe hills, Mbita subcounty on November 11, 2016. (PHOTO: JAMES OMORO/ STANDARD)

Panic hit a busy beach near Sindo Gateway beach in Suba sub county when fishermen discovered six highly explosive bombs. The fishermen spotted the bombs on the beach located on the Homa Bay side of Lake Victoria on Thursday evening.

County Beach Management Network Chairman Edward Oremo said the bombs were discovered by fishermen as they were going about their business.

“My colleagues thought they had caught very big fish only to realise it was bombs,” said Oremo.

Homa Bay County Police Commander John Omusanga said the bombs were a type known as Highly Explosive (HE).

He called bomb experts from Kisumu who later detonated them on Gembe Hills, Mbita sub county.

“These bombs are dangerous and can cause death very easily. I urge locals and fishermen to call authorities immediately when they spot such,” said Omusanga.

He said according to the history of the area, bombs were disposed into the lake during the Second World War.

“The bombs seem to have stayed in the lake for years and have rusted but they are still active. We will continue sensitising the locals about them,” he said.

The fishermen actually thought they had found some precious metals which perhaps they could sell and fetch good money for the Christmas holiday.

“We thought we had got precious metals which could sell and get some good cash. We even started striking deals with my colleagues how we could sell them,” said Jack Onyango, a fisherman.

Luckily, some of them shared the ‘new found jewels’ with police officers who got in touch and were able to establish that the fishermen were holding bombs. The police took the explosives to Magunga Police Station.

When news spread around the beach area, panic hit the beach community with locals wondering who could have disposed the explosives in the water and what might have happened if they had gone off.

“The news has spread and people are really scared. Can you imagine what could have happened if they went off? So many lives would have been lost within a short time. Some of the fishermen are afraid of returning to the lake in case there are more of such gadgets,” said Oremo.

Oremo called on the local security personnel to sensitise fishermen on how to spot bombs to avoid such incidences in future.