Moments in History; D2
Nairobi, January 15th, 2019
World in Turmoil
It’s January 15th, 2019. It is the 25th day of the US Government shutdown. In the UK, the House of Commons is preparing to take a vote on the Brexit deal. Uncertainty looms. In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro has just been sworn in for a second term. The election is contested. A crisis is brewing. In Zimbabwe, there are massive protests following the announcement of an increase in fuel prices. The world seems to be in turmoil.
It’s a warm, fuzzy Tuesday in Nairobi. The city is stirring back to life. On the ground floor, in a secluded corner of dusitD2 Nairobi, the daily meeting by departmental heads is underway. d2NA or D2, as it’s popularly known, is a high-end hotel in the suburbs of Nairobi. It is located in the 14 Riverside Drive complex, less than 3 kilometres away from the central business district. The General Manager is away and today, this will be an unusually short meeting.
Hustle in the City
As recounted by himself, earlier that morning at 05.30 am, Alex Kariuki made his way to the All Saints Cathedral, a church at Nairobi’s CBD. Young and an epitome of fitness, he worked at their Health Club, as a gym instructor. Alex had also taken up a second job recently, at D2NA. The resident instructor was away on leave and Alex was holding fort, as a temporary reliever. Having finished his regular job at 1.00 pm, he made his way to the hotel and reported to work just after 2.00 pm.
This was his third day at his second job. He barely knew anyone. The gym wasn’t too busy either and it was a rather slow day, with just three other people sweating it out on the treadmill. Unbeknown to him, he would soon be caught up in an incident that would make international news while claiming the lives of 22 innocent people.
On that fateful Tuesday, I was also at the hotel. After that daily brief, I had three scheduled meetings out of the hotel, on 14 Riverside - that stretch of road that runs all the way from Waiyaki Way, the main road artery in Westlands. One of the meetings was with one of our key clients at the time. The client - one of the largest international news organizations - had recently opened up a bureau very close to our hotel.
With expected increase in travel into Nairobi, this presented a business opportunity. It was therefore important for us to reach out, connect and engage them early in the year. I was accompanied to this meeting by Claudia (not her real name), who was the Director of Business Development. I reported directly to her.
During our meeting at the client’s offices we were offered coffee. We had what I would refer to as a very warm meeting. On our way back, we made a stop for a second meeting. When we finished, we went back to 14 Riverside Drive.
The complex comprised of 5 multi-storied buildings or blocks that somewhat ‘circled’ the hotel. With 3 wings, the Thai affiliated hotel was situated almost at the centre of the complex. Though somewhat quiet, this 5-acre land was home to over 40 local and multinational organizations with hundreds of employees.
Hot and Eerie
Upon return, Claudia and I parted ways. She had another meeting at the hotel. On the other hand, I still had one more meeting with one of my clients who had an office within the complex. Our meeting took place as planned and by the time we were through, it was a few minutes to 2.00 pm.
With the staff cafeteria soon closing, I dashed there, grabbed a quick meal and soon, I would be out of the complex again. This time round, I had a personal errand to run. My motor vehicle insurance sticker had expired and I was due to collect a new one at Resolution Health offices. This is a Kenyan insurance service provider and they also had an office nearby, in Westlands.
I arrive there and I go into the office on 3rd floor, leaving the driver at the parking area. I collect my insurance sticker and we are soon on our way back. While enroute, I call my friend Jam who had facilitated issuance of the sticker. On the call, I told him that I had collected it and I thank him.
Driving down Waiyaki Way, we turned to Chiromo Road and then we slowly weaved our way down the road. Just after what was then the Australian High Commission, we turned right, driving through the long driveway that led to 14 Riverside Drive. We went through the security check and past the main entrance.
I remember quite vividly how that day felt. At about 26°C, it was rather hot but eerily quiet. Going through that routine check, everything seemed in place and yet something wasn’t. I just couldn’t put a finger on it. We had then driven down to a parking area that was located behind Arlington, one of the office blocks. At exactly 3.28 pm, as I was preparing to leave the car, I heard a loud bang.
Under Siege
Across the building, way up on the 8th floor in the D2 gym, Alex also heard the bang. It was followed by eerie silence and a distinct, ‘pop pop pop, pop’. As told verbatim in a subsequent interview, he walks to the balcony and looks down below, through the window. He sees people running. He opens the door, and followed by the three other people in the gym, they run down the stairs.
When he gets to the landing on the 4th floor, he turns around to look. He can’t see anyone else and he realizes that he is alone. Being new, he doesn’t know his way around. He doesn’t even know where the emergency exit is. He decides to go back to the gym on the 8th floor.
Meanwhile, across the complex, things are beginning to unravel. At the courtyard, a suicide bomber has blown himself to smithereens. His body-parts are strewn all over the place and a whole leg lies on the grass. Two people who were patronizing the nearby restaurant and were having a lunch meeting would become the first casualties of the attack. In an adjacent saloon, having witnessed the incident, the employees start to flee, mguu niponye.
Soon, blasts rend the air. Then comes the distinct sound of gunshots. CCTV footage would later reveal 4 heavily armed terrorists making their way into the complex. Dressed in black, faces in full view, they are on a suicide mission. They are armed with grenades, AK47’s and extra magazines for good measure.
Written in Infamy
Once inside the complex and facing little resistance, they split up into two groups. Two terrorists enter Hanover from the front. This is the office block that is closest to the main entrance. Two others go around the building, past the remains of their dead colleague, and enter the building from the back. They sweep the building, moving tactically from floor to floor, shooting at anything that moves.
Scared and fearing for their lives, people are holed up in toilets and in any hidden space that they can find. Some crawl between spaces, trying to elude the attackers and save their lives. Some are lucky. Some aren't. From there, they move from one block to the other. The MO is the same. Thankfully, as they move from block to block, having been forewarned, a number of people have managed to escape while others are hiding. Messages are being sent out covertly; some to loved ones and some to security agencies. It’s a cry for help.
By the time the 4 terrorists make it to Cavendish, the block at the far end, it is estimated that about 17 people are holed up in there. By the time they leave and enter dusitD2, they have shot dead six people in that block. It is here in D2 - a hotel whose name will hitherto be written in infamy - where the final clash will play out. Alex will be right in the middle of it and he will live to tell the tale!
Rescue
In what can best be described as speedy response, about 10 minutes into the attack, help arrives. This comprises paramedics and security forces; the Kenya Recce Squad, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, (ATPU), and the military special forces. Also at hand are a number of privately armed civilians and Christian Craighead, a special SAS Officer who happened to be in Kenya as trainer. He would save save numerous lives that day. There are ambulances and a fire truck on stand-by.
As the security forces analyse the situation and as they make a tactical approach, shots are ringing all round. They begin rescuing civilians from buildings and as they exit, one after the other, they are frisked for weapons. They are the escorted away as they cower, amidst strong suppressing gunfire.
At 4.46 pm, heavy gunfire can still be heard in 14 Riverside Drive. Somewhat cornered and taken aback by the rather speedy response, the terrorist now enter D2. Most of the other buildings have been secured and the security forces are slowly moving from block to block and from floor to floor, rescuing civilians. It is around the same time that Al-Shabaab, the Islamist group in Somalia, releases a message claiming responsibility for the attack. If it wasn’t clear before, the scope of the attack now becomes clearer. Save for the suicide bomber, the 4 attackers are alive and kicking.
As they move up through the hotel, they shoot at CCTV cameras while combing each floor. They are looking to amass as many casualties as they can, They are still heavily armed and they have a direct view of the ground below. They also have direct view of Grosvenor, the office block that is directly opposite the hotel entrance. They train the gunfire there.
Hair’s Breadth
Back at the D2 gym, Alex knows that he is running out of time. He is looking for places to hide. He first goes to the gent’s changing room but he doesn’t find somewhere suitable to hide. He then goes to the ladies and it is equally not suitable. As he recounts himself, he then goes to the staff entrance where there is an adjacent steam engine room (sic). He looks up and sees an opening on the ceiling. He jumps up with both hands and because of his weight, part of the ceiling gives in and collapses, leaving him hanging by his left hand.
Mastering all his strength, he pulls himself up. He swings, his foot managing to lodge itself somewhere. He is now hanging upside down, he says. His phone drops from his pocket as he tries to haul himself up into the ceiling. When he finally makes it, he discovers that his left shoe is missing. It came off in the struggle.
At this point, he recounts, he can hear loud banging and gunshots approaching below him. A few moments later, he hears the door opening and someone approaches his position. No doubt having noticed the shoe and the phone, the terrorist realizes that someone is up there. He fires continuously into the ceiling, emptying the magazine. Then silence.
Alex is lying on his stomach, on the piping and cables that are above the ceiling. He is terrified but unscathed. He keeps still for a while but then he starts getting sore. The posture is getting painful. He decides to sit up and change his posture. In the process, the insulation paper covering the pipes makes a noise. He goes on to explain that the next thing that he heard was the magazine being replaced, the gun being cocked and then there followed a second barrage of bullets before silence reigned again. Miraculously, all these bullets have missed him. However, one must have ricocheted and hit him in the arm.
“In the silence, all I could think of was my family, friends and relatives. I wanted to pray, he says. “All that I could muster was, ‘God save my life.’”. By now, shooting has stopped but he can hear gunfire downstairs, followed by shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar.’ ‘Whenever he shouted, there would be a similar chant and response further down the stairs, followed by gunfire, certainly from another terrorist,’ he says. ‘Interestingly, he says, ‘they would sometimes take a break to go and say a prayer and then the gunfire would continue.’
Break at Dawn
At 8.08 pm, the Head of Kenyan Police says that six of the seven floors at dusitD2 have been secured. At 10.48, the Senior Commander says that all other affected buildings have been secured. However, sporadic gunfire can still be heard. It is unclear to me when the last terrorist was neutralized. However, as per unverified sources, for a good part of the night, gunfire was exchanged between the terrorist in the 8th floor gym and security forces patched across the block at Grosvenor, well past 3.00 am on Tuesday 16th. By that time, most civilians had escaped while some still remained hidden in nooks and crannies across different buildings in the complex.
When all is said and done, Alex was amongst the last to be saved, 17 hours after the attack had begun. ‘Come Down, Kuja Chini! Kazi imeisha, the job is done!’ This was the call that finally got Alex to leave the gym the following morning, on 16th January. On his way down, he saw his erstwhile tormenter lying dead at the corridor on the eight floor. The other terrorist had been killed somewhere between the fifth and the sixth floor.
Epilogue
I was seated in the car with the driver behind Arlington, the office block that is opposite the hotel, when I heard those initial gunshots. Soon enough, I would see a number of people running past our parked vehicle. It was a scary thing to see. They then scaled and then jumped over the electric fence and into the Nairobi River. (Later I would learn that for some reason, that fence wasn’t live that afternoon). At that point, My phone had 3% charge and I was in utter fear. I left everything, including my keys and in the car and without a word to the driver who was still seated at front of the car, I ran! To where, I don’t know. I just ran and ran and ran!
Somehow, I found myself at this clandestine bridge that served as a link between 14 Riverside Complex and the adjacent office complex. A couple of people had gathered there and as soon as it opened, I was amongst the first group of people to walk out of 14 Riverside and out of harm’s way. On the way out, I had managed to squeeze out 3 phone calls. The first was to Jam, letting him know that something was happening but that I was getting out of the complex. The second was to a mutual friend who I asked to let the G.M know that something was awry. The third was to Claudia. In my panic, I just said, ‘Code Red,’. She responded by saying, “I have heard it and we are leaving.” She never made it.
Minutes later, she would be gunned down on that very bridge alongside three other valiant colleagues, as they exited the complex. The group of four that were killed there comprised Lynn (not her real name), a warm bubbly personality who was the G.M’s assistant. She had been unwell that day and following the attack, had a fainting spell. She was killed on a stretcher. It also included Trey and Martin, (not their real names); 2 selfless men who worked in the security department and who died in the line of duty, while assisting Lynn. It also included Nurse Joan (Not her real name) who would survive the immediate attack but who would succumb to related injuries a year later.
Also killed in the attack was Chef Gadison, (not his real name). He had had finished his shift and was celebrating his birthday that day, in January. In the spirit of celebration, his colleagues had ‘washed’ him. He was in the shower cleaning up when unbeknown to him, the siege begun. As captured by CCTV, he was walking out nonchalantly when one of the terrorists spotted him and shot him. Then there was the ever polite and radiant Mina, (not her real name) who was the Executive Housekeeper. She had left the building during the attack. She made her way all the way towards the bridge. For some reason, she turned back. She dashed back into the office and picked her laptop. She was running back out when she was attacked. She would succumb to her injuries while in hospital.
In total, 21 innocent people died that day. Over 30 people were injured while over 700 people were rescued by gallant men and women who put their lives on the line. The full scope of the attack would sink in later, when the final count was done and when we were unable to account for people. That evening, when I had exited the complex and standing by the road on Waiyaki Way, opposite ICEA Building, I was numb and confused. I borrowed someone’s phone and called Jam, letting him know that I had made it out. He asked me to wait for him at a certain Club in 'Westie.'
It is while there that I watched, for the first time, what was unfolding in 14 Riverside Drive. I drunk beer and cried. When he eventually got to me after 8.00 pm, I was hammered and an absolute wreck. I would proceed to spend the next couple of days depressed and hunkered down forlornly on his couch.
All the 5 terrorist died in that attack. D2NA would close for eight months. It reopened to pomp and splendour, in August 2019. With the advent of Covid, early in 2020, it would close its doors one final time. Lives would be upended. We were all declared redundant and we all went home. Ownership of the complex would subsequently be lost in an unrelated court case.
I never paid back Jam for the beers that he bought me that day!
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