Blast victims count ordeal that claimed hundreds of innocent lives

By Caroline Rwenji

Nairobi, Kenya: The memories of the 1998 bomb blast that rocked Nairobi are still fresh in Alex Njogu’s mind. 15 years later, Njogu has never gotten over the trauma of that dark day. The repeated scenes of blood and death keep on flashing back in his mind.

However, he says he is lucky to have survived the tragedy.

While more than 212 people lost their lives, over 5, 000 others were left maimed and injured.

Mr Njogu, now retired, worked at the Teacher’s Service Commission, which was housed on the 12 floor of the Cooperative Bank building.

“We heard the first blast which was not too loud and most of my workmates went to the windows to check out what was happening. I stood to also check what was happening but a table got in my way. Immediately, we heard a second blast,” he recounted.

This is when, he says the lights went off and he dove under the table only to look up and see people sprawled on the floor bleeding profusely. “Some had been cut by the shattered glass while others had been thrown out of the building by the impact of the blast,” said Njogu.

He joined the multitude of people making their way down the stairs to seek medical help. He remembered seeing an injured Joseph Kamotho who was then the Minister for Trade.

Njogu said that it took a long time to get to the ground floors where good Samaritans took them to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). He remembered seeing scores of people badly injured and others lying dead all over the place.

He received medical attention at KNH and was later discharged. A good Samaritan offered to drop him home at Kangemi where he found his family frantically searching for him.

Mr Njogu however still suffers headaches to date and lost some of his teeth during the blast.

Another survivor Mr Erastus Maina escaped narrowly as he was passing below the ill fated building daily at 10.30 during his break time from classes at Dima College to pick letters at the City Centre Post office.

“We had exams on this day and so I delayed for a while to complete my paper. My desk mate who was heading to the Kenya Polytechnic asked to accompany me but I asked him to go first since I had not finished my exam,” he narrated.

That was the last time he saw his desk mate Patrick who was unfortunately caught up in the blast 10 minutes after leaving class, where he lost his life.

The lights on the building went off and Mr Maina made frantic efforts to leave the building and instead headed towards the blast to check on his father Crispus Maina who worked at the Railways Headquarters. Luckily, he nd his father on the corridors safe but with minor cuts on his head.

Erastus’s father said bad memories are still fresh and saddening.