Grenade blast kills 14 as tribal war intensifies

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

A military grenade was used in a dawn raid yesterday morning which killed 14 people, including women and children in Kagua-Erave District of the Southern Highlands Province.
The chairman of the Peace and Good Order Committee in Kagua-Erave, Charle Miru, said reports confirmed that a grenade was thrown into a house in a raid at about 2am yesterday, killing all the occupants.
Mr Miru said another eight houses were torched and burnt to ashes during the raid and he expected the death toll to rise to around 30.
He said the tribal fight was between the Kambia and Wambe tribes of Kagua-Erave.
“The peace and good order committee with the police cannot get into the area as the fighting has intensified because of the early morning attack,” Mr Miru said.
He said that reports reaching his committee stated that 14 people were burnt to ashes and identified as from that one household. Mr Miru said the others could not be identified as their bodies were badly burnt. He said the tribal fight started after the funeral service of former Member of Parliament David Basua, in which a village councillor from Wambe tribe was killed in 2011.
He said after the killing peace was restored and police and the peace committee moved out of the area after getting assurance that all was well.
He said September this year marked the first anniversary of the councillor’s death and while his tribe was doing the final feast, the rival tribal conducted the dawn attack on them with the grenade.
Kagua Erave MP James Lagea, when contacted yesterday, condemned it in the strongest terms, describing it as a “cowardly attack on women and children”.
“I strongly condemn this act of cowardice against women and children. This is not a tribal fight. This is outright murder of innocent women and children,’’ said Mr Lagea.
Mr Lagea said if this report was confirmed then it would be the second grenade attack after 2011 when a grenade was used in a tribal fight between the Kombe and Wakea tribes.
“I strongly condemned the attack and I will ask police to send in troops to assist curb the fighting. I also call on the educated elites of Kagua-Erave to help educate their people to stop these tribal fighting,’’ a fuming Mr Lagea said.
“Development funds for Kagua-Arave cannot be continuously be used to fund police operations in the district. Our people need roads, bridges and other major infrastructure in health and education.’’