Police in Nyeri Sunday detonated about 70-year old colonial-era bomb inside Aberdare National Park near the famous but no longer operational Treetops Hotel.
The bomb is believed to have been dropped from the air at the onset of freedom struggle and by the British military as they fought Mau Mau fighters who hid in the forests.
David Chege, a bomb expert attached to DCI in Nyeri told KNA that the bomb then referred to as Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) had the potential to bring down a 5-storey building with a slight mishandling.
Chege added that the bomb that weighed approximately 5 kilograms might have failed to explode after landing on a soft ground after being dropped.
He said the ammunition was found by KWS rangers on patrol inside the park and they alerted the police for action. ‘’For the past few weeks, experts have detonated four such bombs that are commonly found in the areas around Mount Kenya and Aberdare forests,’’ said chege.
During the detonation exercise, Chege took time to sensitize KWS rangers on how to safely handle such bombs upon recovery.
He urged area residents to always call the police after finding such objects warning them never to touch, hit or carry them as doing so may trigger an explosion, leading to loss of lives.
By Beth Ndirangu
