Mohamud Jama feels empty and angry after Tuesday’s terrorist attack at 14 Riverside Drive, in Westlands, Nairobi.
The attack took away took away Mohamud’s source of pride and joy: his son, Abdalla Mohamed Dahir and son in- law Faizal Ahmed Rashid. Both were felled by terrorist’s bullets at dusitD2 complex where they worked.
Mohamud- a hotelier himself, who owns Kilimanjaro chain of hotels, would have lost three sons, had his other son, Yassin Mohamud Jama, not sprinted for his dear life through the back entrance of the hotel as soon as the shooting began.
As Mohamud waits to view the bodies of his sons at the Chiromo mortuary, one would have mistaken him for a quiet onlooker in a scene of sorrow around him. His white beard tells of a man who has been through the good, the bad and the ugly.
Surrounded by family members and friends impatient from waiting too long to be allowed into the mortuary, Mohamud, decides to speak on the tragic events.
“On Tuesday at around 3pm, I received a call from my son, Yassin, who informed me that there had been a problem at Dusit where he works. He did not initially give me much details, but he told me he would call back,” said Mohamud.
He kept calling back until he was able to reach his son again, who revealed that the hotel had been attacked by armed men. Shortly after, he was informed that his son and son-in-law did not make it out of the building. His heart broke.
“I lost two sons. I feel as bad as any other parent would on being told that they have lost a son. It hurts so much,” he says, fighting back tears.
Yasmin told how he and the two decided to use the back entrance of the building when the shooting began.
They sprinted towards Waiyaki Way. Behind them, they heard gun shots. In a flash, his brother and brother-in-law were dead.
“My brother and in-law were having lunch at the Secret Garden Hotel when the second explosion happened. They did not make it.