By Amoto Ndiewo
Two Grade Six pupils at Wargadud Primary school in Elwak municipality were burnt to death in Mandera County following an explosion on Sunday, October 30.
Confirming the incident, Mandera Criminal Investigating Officer (CIO) Benedict Kigen disclosed that the warhead suspected to have been launched from a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded after the two unsuspecting children tinkered with it.
“They were burned beyond recognition after the gadget exploded on Sunday morning while they were herding goats at Iresuki village,” he said.
The CIO added that investigation were underway to determine when the device was deployed or whether it was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the Al-shabaab who could have been targeting a nearby communication mast.
“The police are investigating to find out how old and how long the gadget has been there. Preliminary investigation indicated that it may have been an RPG or a socket bomb as small fragments of metal found at the blast scene radius indicated,” he said.
Condemning the rising cases of insecurity, MP for Mandera South Adan Haji Ali called on security agencies to step up the fight against the Al-shabaab and mop up unexploded bombs and IEDs in the area.
The unfortunate incident follows barely a fortnight since a similar incident occurred where two children lost their lives while herding goats in the County.
