Another bomb found at Ngong field of death

By Cyrus Ombati and Rawlings Otieno

Another military bomb was recovered at the field where four boys were blown to death sparking fears there could be more of such devices in the area.

And as the search continued, the fifth child who had been admitted in hospital after the Sunday explosion died.

The search by the military police Monday turned into a cat and mouse game as some villagers who had apparently collected more explosives refused to surrender them.

"We understand some are even keeping live bullets and other explosives that they collected from this area. we urge them to give them out," said Nairobi PPO Anthony Kibuchi.

Succumbed to injuries

The recovered explosive was later destroyed as a crowd watched from a distance.

And doctors at the Kenyatta National Hospital said Panai Keshu, 12, succumbed to the injuries at 3am as he underwent treatment.

Panai had severe injuries on his legs and hands and had lost a lot of blood when he was taken to hospital after the blast in Ol Maroroi village, Ewaso Kedong division of Kajiado North district, about 40 kilometers from Nairobi .

The vast area is usually used by both the police and the military for their training sessions.

The last group of trainees there a few weeks ago was Kenya Air Force personnel who left after two days of training.

Military spokesman Bogita Ongeri said they would investigate how the devices were left there.

"They usually have mechanisms of ensuring they clear such explosives but we are investigating to know how they were abandoned," he said.

Police said they would move to the area in large numbers in efforts to clear it of any explosive that could be still lying alive.

Ignorantly playing

Kibuchi said as much as combing the area would be a good idea, education of the locals on the danger of the explosions would be better.

Four children were killed on the spot when a 60mm mortar bomb they were ignorantly playing with exploded.

The children all aged between six and 12 had picked up the explosive and started to play with it at about 2.30 pm when it went off killing them on the spot.

Mourning

Those who died are all pupils at the Maroroi Primary School, which was in mourning. Those killed were identified as Letuya Salash, 12, Joel Salash, 8 Sunguya Keshu, 9 and Boniface Masenka, 7.

According to the area chief John Tupana, the explosive was heard several kilometers away before they rushed to the area.