Scare as fishermen find six mortar bombs in Lake Victoria

There was panic on Thursday, March 16 morning when six mortar bombs were discovered by fishermen, who were on a fishing expedition close to Lake Victoria’s Ngodhe Islands in Mbita, Homabay County.

According to the fishermen spokesperson Edward Ochieng, three fishermen had set sail as night settled on Thursday, aboard a mortar-powered fishing vessel.

Armed with a lantern, the trio ventured into the still waters of the world’s second-largest freshwater lake in the hope of a handsome catch of the delicious silver cyprinid known in the local Luo dialect as Omena.

As is the tradition passed on from their forefathers, the fishermen cast their nets into the still waters and lit up the lantern, as the gentle winds whipped the waters leaving a whisper that reassured the fishermen of an exceedingly bountiful expedition.

The boat sailed with ease towards Ngodhe when their net suddenly became heavier than usual.

Beaming with excitement at the thought of the fortune that awaited them at the fishmonger’s shop the following morning, they joined hands in hauling the heavy net back to the boat.

But the shock of their lives came when they discovered that they had caught six heavy pieces of metal resembling bombs.

On reaching the shores of the water they had to take cover and call the police after realizing they had collected the explosives.

The 80mm bombs were kept in safe custody at the Mbita Subcounty Police Headquarters, awaiting disposal by Bomb Disposal and Hazardous Materials detectives based in Kisumu city.

The fishermen have raised concern over the high number of explosives that have been discovered. Similar discoveries were made in 2021.

In 2019 explosives believed to be from the colonial era were found concealed in an old rusty wooden box in the lake.

Such discoveries are common in the waters, officials said. Police say they have launched a sensitisation campaign to enlighten residents on how to identify explosives and their harmful effects.