Ugandan police on Tuesday found 17 human skulls buried in four metal boxes at a suspected shelter in central Uganda.
Residents said the children, who were searching for firewood outside Kabanga village in Mpigi district, about 40 kilometres west of the capital Kampala, made the gruesome discovery on Sunday.
“We quickly intervened and dug up the site, and so far we have recovered 17 human skulls,” regional police spokesman Majid Karim told AFP on Tuesday.
The skulls were discovered in an underground chamber on a hill, which prevented the use of heavy machinery and slowed the search.
“We are conducting more excavations to ensure that there are no skulls other than those we have recovered so far,” he added, adding that the remains are being examined to determine age, gender and possible date of burial.
The police spokesman urged residents to remain calm.
In the village, there is astonishment. “If the police find the skulls, where can they find the rest of the body parts, like the legs and hands?” Bruno Serunkuma Mbombe, 42, a spare parts seller, told AFP. “We did not expect this to happen in our area,” said the father of four.
Majed Karim said the police would open an investigation to determine who “could be behind this act.”
Children's clothing, hairstyles, hair extensions, household items, bone remains and animal skins were also discovered in the remains where the skulls were found.
According to local media, residents said people had previously gathered at the site to pray.
The alleged owner of the site is on the run, having been linked to another case involving the killing of a prominent traditional leader.
Although densely populated, the Mpigi area remains semi-rural. Agriculture dominates local trade, with coffee and bananas being the main cash crops.
A major road connects villages in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.
