Live Explosives Recovered in Lake Victoria

Fishermen operating along the shores of Lake Victoria in Mbita were left shaken after hauling in live explosive devices in two separate incidents within 48 hours.

What began as routine fishing expeditions ended in alarm as security officers moved in to secure and remove the dangerous materials.

The first discovery occurred on March 1, 2026, at Litare Beach.

According to police and eyewitness accounts, a group of fishermen believed they had trapped an unusually large fish in their nets.

Their excitement quickly faded when they realised they had instead pulled up a container packed with active explosive devices and rounds of ammunition.

Officers who later examined the find warned that the contents posed a serious threat to anyone handling them.

After understanding how dangerous the devices were, the fishermen left the devices at the beach and then contacted authorities, who collected the devices for safekeeping.

Koguna Beach’s second discovery

Koguna was discovered on March 1, occurred just one day later on March 2 when another team also discovered another metal box containing explosives at the waters of Koguna.

This time, 14 additional bombs were recovered from the lake’s waters.

The area has been well-known for the fishing spots it offers, and this makes the occurrence quite disturbing for the people living around the area.

Police indicated that the explosives were propellant-based devices and included bullets.

The recovered materials were transported to Mbita Sub-County Police Headquarters, where they are being held pending destruction by the Bomb Disposal and Hazardous Materials Unit stationed in Kisumu.

Security officials described the devices as highly dangerous and reiterated the importance of reporting suspicious objects immediately.

That team had also alerted local residents not to attempt to pick up, move, or transport any metal containers or boxes that they found in the water.

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Pattern of Explosive Discoveries

The two incidents have once again brought to the fore concerns for fishermen in the region that these kinds of discoveries have been happening with increasing frequency.

Such occurrences have been reported in the recent past in 2021 when fishermen in Homa Bay County discovered mortar bombs in the lake.

In some cases, fishermen have leapt into the lake in panic, while in others, fishermen have guided their boats to the shore.

Earlier in 2019, explosives from the colonial days were discovered hidden inside old wooden crates submerged in the lake.

Earlier discoveries have been accepted as not being unusual for the lake, though there is no clear reason for how they ended up there.

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Ongoing Safety Campaign

Law enforcement agencies have since launched community awareness efforts aimed at educating residents on how to identify potential explosives and understand the risks involved.

Officials say the standard procedure involves transferring recovered ordnance to a secure facility before controlled destruction at a designated site.

The residents in the Lake Victoria region are still on high alert, with many calling for increased surveillance and investigation into the source of the explosives.

The police are still cautioning the fishermen in the region to be vigilant and report anything suspicious floating in the lake.

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DCI office headquarters
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