Chris Obore
5 August 2007
Kampala — DANGEROUS radioactive materials often used by terrorists to manufacture bombs have been stolen from Mulago Hospital, throwing top security chiefs in the country into a panic.
Some of the radioactive materials belonged to Mulago Hospital while others had been captured from suspected Al-Qaeda terror cells in Jinja District last year and stored at the hospital.
The materials were stolen nearly two weeks ago. After the capture of the explosive materials from the suspected Al-Qaeda cells, the security personnel took them to Mulago government hospital for proper management because of its sophistication.
Sunday Monitor established that the Mulago radioactive materials were for treatment of cancer but they had expired. But those taken there by the police were still active.
Regulations require that such expired materials be returned to the country of origin for proper disposal.
How and why the materials were stolen is still a puzzle to the security chiefs but it is suspected that wrong elements could have stolen the materials for terrorism purposes.
Three Mulago Hospital workers - Mr Ogwang, the head of security; his deputy Norman Buginza; and Mr Mbogo, a cleaner - were detained at Kampala Central Police Station for five days and released on bond. "We were arrested and we shall report to court on Tuesday. But I was not aware such things were in the hospital. Even my supervisor was not aware," Mr Ogwang said.
Mulago officials were unwilling to reveal information officially but inside sources said the radioactive materials had been kept in the bunkers behind the hospital kitchen.
"Radioactive material is still very dangerous even after it has expired. Mulago had acquired it from South Africa," a source said.
Apart from confirming theft of the radioactive materials, police bosses were unwilling to divulge details. "That information will be released by Elly Womanya," said Police Spokesman Asan Kasingye.
Mr Womanya is a commissioner of police in charge of crime. "I am aware that it was stolen," he said and referred Sunday Monitor to the regional CID officer for Kampala, Mr G. Musana, who in turn referred us back to Mr Womanya.
At that point Mr Womanya sent us to Mr Abbas Byakagaba, the head of police anti-terrorism unit, but he too declined to talk and switched off his phone afterward.
But Sunday Monitor obtained a copy of minutes of a security meeting at which attendees expressed worry about the disappearance of the radioactive materials.
The Police Crime Management Committee met on July 27 in Kampala and resolved to carry out investigations with a view to recovering the stolen materials.
The meeting, chaired by Inspector General Kale Kayihura, was attended by several senior police officers.
Minute 37/07 entitled "Radioactive Material" reads: "The National Security Council warned against alerting the public at this stage as the public is likely to be alarmed."
The implication is that if the materials were stolen for sinister motives then the public is unsafe because such materials are what terrorists use for making suicide bombs.
Radioactive elements
Radioactive material is a material whose nuclei spontaneously give off nuclear radiation.
An Internet search shows that the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium are used in the generation of electricity in nuclear power plants.
Small radioactive sources of particles are used in many home smoke detectors.
These elements are also used in the production of nuclear weapons. Radioactive material pose a health hazard like lung contamination if inhaled or skin problems among others.
With other catalysts like fire, some radioactive material like tritium combines spontaneously with oxygen in the air and will replace ordinary hydrogen in water or other hydrogenous material (grease or oil) causing these materials to become radioactive.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
