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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Aug 13 2010 - 08:45:10 EDT
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE67B0QS20100812?sp=true
Suspect says rage at US led him to plot Ugandan bombs
Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:29pm GMT
By Elias Biryabarmea
KAMPALA (Reuters) - One of the suspected masterminds of last month's bomb
attacks on Uganda's capital Kampala said on Thursday his anger at the United
States spurred his involvement in the plot, adding that it was intended to
kill Americans.
Issa Ahmed Luyima, 33, a former librarian, was one of four Ugandan suspects
paraded in front of journalists by the east African nation's Chieftancy of
Military Intelligence (CMI) before he made a public confession.
"I was reluctant to pick on Ugandans. My rage was with the Americans whom I
deemed responsible for all the suffering of Muslims around the world ... we
thought they are the ones who planted the TGF (interim government) in
Somalia," Luyima said.
He said he regretted the loss of Ugandan lives when three bombs ripped
through a bar at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant where soccer fans
were watching the World Cup final on July 11.
Somalia's al Shabaab Islamic militants later claimed responsibility, saying
the attacks were revenge for Uganda's deployment of peacekeeping troops in
Somalia. Ugandan soldiers form the backbone of the 6,300 strong AMISOM
force.
Ugandan Police say at least two of the bombs were detonated by suicide
bombers while a third was likely triggered by a mobile phone.
Luyima said he chose the Ethiopian restaurant as a target because the blasts
were likely to kill Ethiopians and westerners.
Hardline Islamists accuse Somalia's beleaguered interim government of being
a puppet of the West and Ethiopia. Ethiopia invaded its neighbour in late
2006 to force an Islamist movement out of Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
"That was my rage and that's why I picked on the Ethiopian restaurant
because of that mix-up of Ethiopians and westerners, Ethiopians are also a
big part of our enemy," Luyima said.
Three Kenyans have been charged with several counts of murder and terrorism
for their roles in the attacks.
Luyima and his accomplices have not yet been charged but have confessed to
planning and facilitating the attacks, including renting a house to host the
suicide bombers, carrying them to their targets and planting a fourth bomb
that was defused by the police before it exploded.
The head of the CMI, Brigadier James Mugira, said Uganda was delivering on
its promise to hunt the perpetrators down and bring them to justice.
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