Arusha Bakwata cleric hurt in ‘bomb attack’

Sheikh Abdulkareem Jonjo

The Arusha regional secretary of the Tanzania Muslim Council (Bakwata), Sheikh Abdulkareem Jonjo, has been admitted at Mount Meru Regional Hospital after being injured in a suspected bomb attack.

Speaking at his hospital bed, where he is nursing wounds, Jonjo claimed that the incident occurred on Wednesday night when he was asleep at his home located at Sokoni One area.

Recounting the ordeal, the cleric said on the fateful day, he returned home at 7pm and there was no power in the area.

When the incident occurred, he explained, his family was not in the house as his wife and children “are in Tabora where they are attending a funeral.”

At around 10pm he woke up and realised that the power was on and started to charge his mobile phone, he said.

“After that I went back to bed and at 0.30am I saw something on fire in the room. I woke up to try to tough it but it unfortunately exploded, injuring me and set me unconscious,” he said.

He added that the injuries on the face and hands made him to ooze a lot of blood.

After an hour he managed to seek help from a neighbor who took him to a nearby police station and hospital.

Regional Commissioner Magesa Mulongo, who visited the victim in his hospital bed later, visited the victim’s home.

“The police are closely investigating the incident to establish the reason of the explosion,” RC Mulongo said, adding: “This is a very rare incident in the region and the city of Arusha. We are going to establish the truth of the matter to see whether what exploded was a bomb or not.”

According to Mulongo, the Regional Security Committee has set up a special team comprising Tanzania People’s Defence Force and Police Force officials to investigate the incident.

The RC however declined to link the incident with religious beliefs.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN