Explosive had been brought by herdsman who wanted pharmacist to identify what it was

ISIOLO, KENYA: A pharmacist died in Isiolo County after a grenade, innocently given to him by a curious herdsman, went off as he held it in his hands.

The herder, identified as Sare Deko, had taken the grenade to Mahat Abdi Daware, the pharmacist, at Skot market to see if he could identify the strange object he said he had taken from some children, according to the Isiolo Administration Police commander.

Mr Deko was said to have taken the explosive device to the pharmacist's shop at around 6pm on Saturday.

The pharmacy is located inside a Sh35 million livestock market yard built by USAid at Skot for use by livestock keepers and traders from Isiolo, Garissa, and Meru.

Market day

"Saturday was a market day and the place was crowded with many people. It would have been catastrophic if the grenade had exploded in a crowded area," observed Garba-Tula Deputy County Commissioner Kipchumba Rutto.

Chief Inspector Leonard Lutta later led six officers to Skot, about 60km east of Garba Tula town, and confirmed the devise was a grenade.

"The grenade exploded in the hands of the chemist owner, Mahat Abdi Daware, aged 32, as he was examining it. He was seriously wounded," said Mr Lutta.

The 20-year-old herdsman was also injured in the left leg, head, hips, and chest while a customer identified as Rukia Ismail, 22, was wounded in the right leg, chest, and hips.

Rutto said the injured, who hail from Banane in Garissa's Lagdera constituency, were taken to Garissa County Referral Hospital.

In May last year, a construction worker found a live grenade as he was working on a building in Kinna.

Rutto said the Shifta (bandits) War of the mid-1960s could be to blame for the presence of grenades in the area.