In early 1975, the first bombs to strike independent Kenya exploded. In February, there were two blasts in central Nairobi, inside the Starlight nightclub and in a travel bureau near the Hilton hotel. The day after the second explosion, JM Kariuki revealed in Parliament that his car had been hit "by what seemed to be bullets".[citation needed] There were rumours of a botched attempt on his life. They were followed by a more serious blast in a Nairobi bus on 1 March, which killed 30 people. Despite a massive public outcry and a police manhunt, no arrests were made. For several days thereafter, the city lived in fear, destabilized by numerous telephone bomb hoaxes.
On 2 March 1975, the day after the OTC bus blast, security officials including General Service Unit commander Ben Gethi publicly accosted JM Kariuki outside the Hilton hotel. Various police officers, including police commissioner Patrick Shaw, had been following JM throughout the day. Gethi asked Kariuki to accompany the security officials into a convoy of cars and took him to an unknown destination.[3][4]
The bombings stopped after the news of the disappearance and murder of JM Kariuki became public.[5][6]
The Norfolk hotel in Nairobi, owned by a prominent member of the local Jewish community, was bombed on 31 December 1980. The bomb killed 20 people of several nationalities, wounded 87 more, and destroyed much of the west wing. It was believed to be an act of revenge by pro-Palestinian militants for Kenya's supporting role in Israel's Operation Entebbe.[7][8][9][10]
According to reports about that incident, international security agencies in conjunction with the Kenya Police had a prime suspect within hours. He was identified as 34-year-old Qaddura Mohammed Abdel al-Hamid of Morocco, and he was said to have checked into the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi in the last week of 1980. Al-Hamid was found to have paid for his room up until New Year's Day, but slipped away on the afternoon of 31 December. He had boarded a plane for Saudi Arabia by the time the guests at the Norfolk assembled for a New Year's Eve dinner.[11]
On 7 August, between 10:30a.m. and 10:40a.m. local time, suicide bombers in trucks laden with explosives parked outside the embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, and almost simultaneously detonated.[12] 213 people were killed in the Nairobi blast, while 11 were killed in Dar es Salaam.[13] An estimated 4,000 in Nairobi were wounded, and another 85 in Dar es Salaam.[citation needed] Seismological readings analysed after the bombs indicated energy of between 3–17 tons of high explosive material.[14] Although the attacks were directed at American facilities, the vast majority of casualties were local citizens of the two African countries; 12 Americans were killed,[15] including two Central Intelligence Agency employees in the Nairobi embassy,[16] and one U.S. Marine, Sergeant Jesse Aliganga, a Marine Security Guard at the Nairobi embassy.[17][18]
The explosion damaged the embassy building and collapsed the neighbouring Ufundi Building where most victims were killed, mainly students and staff of a secretarial college housed there. The heat from the blast was channelled between the buildings towards Haile Selassie Avenue where a packed commuter bus was burned. Windows were shattered in a radius of nearly 1 kilometre.
Following the attacks, a group calling itself the "Liberation Army for Holy Sites" took credit for the bombings. American investigators believe the term was a cover used by Egyptian Islamic Jihad, who had actually perpetrated the bombing.[19] The attacks brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri—and their terrorist organization al-Qaeda—to the attention of the American public for the first time, and resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placing bin Laden on its ten most-wanted fugitives list.
2002 Kikambala Hotel bombing and Arkia Airlines missile attack, Mombasa
An example of a Strela-2 surface-to-air missile system as fired at the Boeing 757 airliner during take-off
On 28 November 2002 two missiles were fired at, but missed, an Israeli passenger airliner as it took off from Mombasa airport. Subsequently, there was an attack on the Kikambala Hotel when it was receiving Israeli tourists.
The hotel blast occurred just after some 60 visitors had checked into the hotel, all of them from Israel, hotel officials said. 13 were killed and 80 injured. Ten Kenyans died, nine of whom were employed by the hotel, most of them were said to be traditional dancers who came to welcome the 140 guests arriving from Israel by state-chartered jet and three Israelis, two of whom were children. In an overnight operation that went on into the early hours, four Israeli military Hercules planes with teams of doctors and psychologists flew into Mombasa and evacuated injured Israeli tourists and all those who wanted to leave.[20]
Almost simultaneously, two shoulder-launchedStrela-2 (SA-7) surface-to-air missiles were fired at another chartered Boeing 757airliner owned by Israel-based Arkia Airlines as it took off from Moi International Airport.[1] The Arkia charter company had a regular weekly service flying tourists between Tel Aviv and Mombasa. Kenyan police discovered a missile launcher and two missile casings in the Changamwe area of Mombasa, about two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the airport.
Police sought MR Bajnaf Mselem Swaleh Mahdi Khamisi, who they believe may lead them to Fazul, the main suspect.[21]
In October 2011, a coordinated operation between the Somali military and the Kenyan military began against the al-Shabaab group of jihadi insurgents in southern Somalia.[22][23] The mission was officially led by the Somali army, with the Kenyan forces providing a support role.[23] Since then, a series of explosions have rocked various areas in Kenya, bombings which are believed to have been retaliatory attacks by Al-Shabaab.[24] In early June 2012, Kenyan forces were formally integrated into AMISOM.[25]
According to US Embassy in the past 2011/2012, there have been at least 17 attacks involving grenades or explosive devices in Kenya. At least 48 people died in these attacks, and around 200 people were injured. Nine of these attacks occurred in North Eastern Province, including locations in Dadaab, Wajir, and Garissa. Four attacks occurred in Nairobi, and four in Mombasa. Targets included police stations and police vehicles, nightclubs and bars, churches, a religious gathering, a downtown building of small shops, and a bus station. One attack involved two simultaneous assaults on churches in Garissa on 1 July 2012. In this attack, 17 people were killed and about 50 people were injured.[26]
On 21 September 2013, al-Shabaab associated gunmen targeted and shot customers at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall. At least 67 people were killed in the attack.[27][28]
Between 15 and 17 June 2014, more than 60 people were killed in attacks in and near Mpeketoni, Lamu County. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, but the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta asserted that the attacks were organized by local politicians with ties to a network of gangs. Correspondents from the area suggested that the attacks may have been motivated by ethnic or religious hatred, or revenge for land grabbing.
On 15 June 2014, about 50 masked gunmen hijacked a van[29][30] and raided a police station in the predominantly Christian town of Mpeketoni,[31] as well as burning hotels, restaurants, and government offices.[30] At least 53 people were reportedly killed during the attack, and eight others were unaccounted for as of 18 June.[32] Most of the dead Kenyans were Kikuyus.[33]
On 22 November 2014, 28 people on board a bus were executed in the Omar Jillo area of Mandera County in the north-eastern tip of Kenya. According to reports, the bus was hijacked by suspected members of the Islamist militant organisation al-Shabaab who identified and killed the non-Muslim passengers. Ten days later in the early hours of 2 December, news emerged of another brutal attack. This time, 36 people had been killed at a quarry in Koromei in the same county.[34][35]
In April 2015, gunmen stormed the Garissa University College, killing almost 150 people and wounding several others. The attackers claimed to be from the Al-Shabaab militant group, and indicated that they were retaliating over non-Muslims occupying Muslim territory.[36] The militants took several students hostage, freeing Muslims but withholding Christians. Over 500 students were still unaccounted for.[37]
On 15 January 2019, four gunmen attacked the DusitD2 complex at 14 Riverside Drive junction around 2:30p.m. Before they were contained and brought down by the Kenya security forces, the terrorists killed 21 people and injured several others in the process.[38]
On 5 January 2020, about 20 Al-Shabaab personnel attacked Camp Simba, the attack destroyed five aircraft and damaged one along with the destruction of two Oshkosh M-ATV and several fuel tankers. U.S. Army Specialist Henry Mayfield Jr was killed in the attack along with two other civilian contractors. After about an hour of fighting five Al-Shabaab soldiers were killed and five more arrested.[39]
Lesser incidents
13 June 2010: During a "NO" campaign rally in Uhuru Park in Nairobi, a petrol bomb was thrown into the crowds as the meeting dispersed at dusk, sparking a stampede as people fled. Some witnesses reported that there were two separate explosions. Five people were killed and as many as 75 were injured. The meeting was called by a church leader to campaign against a proposed new constitution in a referendum.[40]
17 September 2011: A grenade shell was recovered within the premises of the office of the Prime Minister. However, police cooled off the issue saying it was not targeting anybody.[41]
24 October 2011: A Russian made F1 grenade was detonated in the Mwauras disco in Nairobi, injuring 14 people. The police linked the attack to Al-Shabaab.[42] It was followed by a second attack that evening against a bus stop that killed at least one person and injured eight.[43] Elgiva Bwire Oliacha (alias Mohamed Seif), who claimed to be a member of Al-Shabaab, was arrested, pleaded guilty for both attacks,[44] and was sentenced to life in prison.[45][46]
30 September 2012: The Sunday school of St Polycarp's church in Nairobi was attacked with grenades. According to newspaper reports, one child was killed. Police blamed the attack on Al-Shabaab sympathizers.[47]
14 December 2013 – 2013 Nairobi bus attack: A hand grenade was thrown onto a minibus in Eastleigh, a Somali-dominated suburb of Nairobi, killing four people and wounding 36 others.[48]
14 March 2014: In Mombasa, two terrorists were arrested while driving a car carrying two improvised bombs.[49]
19 March 2014: Kenyan police unintentionally parked a car outside their office that was carrying a massive cache of terrorist explosives, including 130 pounds of plastic.[50]
1 April 2014: In the Eastleigh, Nairobi, six people were killed and dozens more injured when terrorists exploded bombs at two separate locations about three hundred meters apart.[51]
9 April 2014: It was reported that twelve shops in Nairobi were being investigated for funneling money to terrorists.[52]
23 April 2014 – Nairobi police station bombing: A car bomb exploded in front of a police station in Nairobi's Pangani quarter, killing four people including two police.[53]
3 May 2014: Three people were killed and 15 were injured[54][55] when a hand grenade was detonated inside a bus in Mombasa.[56] In another incident on the same day, an improvised explosive device was deposited within a bag on a beach.[57] The bag was noticed, and no casualties were reported after "people took cover".[56]
4 May 2014 – 2014 Nairobi bus bombings: On the Thika Highway in Nairobi, terrorists exploded homemade bombs on two commuter buses, nearly simultaneously and about a kilometer apart. Three people were killed and 62 others were injured.[55]
16 May 2014 – 2014 Gikomba bombings: Two improvised explosive devices were detonated simultaneously in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, killing at least 12 people and injuring 70.[58]
23 May 2014: A grenade was thrown at a police vehicle carrying two suspects in Mombasa. Two people were injured.
22 November 2014: Gunmen attacked a bus traveling from Mandera to Nairobi, killing 28 people, mostly teachers and government workers heading to Nairobi for the December holidays.[59]
2 December 2014: Al-Shabaab militants attacked and killed 36 quarry workers, many of whom were non-Muslims, near Mandera.[60]
26 May 2015 – May 2015 Garissa ambush: While rushing to the aid of colleagues who had been hit by a landmine explosion in the village of Yumbis, Garissa County, police were ambushed by Al-Shabaab. A gun battle ensued and four police vehicles were set ablaze. Al-Shabab claimed that at least 20 policemen were killed but an interior ministry spokesman said only one officer was wounded. The previous week Al-Shabaab had occupied Yumbis (70km north of Garissa) for a day.[61][62][63]
21 December 2015: Two people were killed and three others injured when gunmen, believed to be part of Al-Shabaab, attacked a bus travelling from Mandera to Nairobi, and a lorry, near the village of El Wak on the Somali border. Muslim passengers helped dress non-Muslims in Islamic headscarves to prevent the gunmen from identifying them; and refused to separate from non-Muslims when ordered to do so. A non-Muslim bus passenger who tried to run away was shot dead along with a non-Muslim person in the lorry.[64][65][66]
4 December 2021: Two police officers were shot dead and at least 12 other officers injured when Al-Shabaab militants ambushed a lorry carrying 20 officers on the Rhamu-Mandera Road. Later on the same day, a suspected militant was killed by special forces in the Bambo area of Mandera County.[67]
3 January 2022: Six Christians were killed in a suspected Al-Shabaab Attack in Widhu village, Lamu West.[68]
2 February 2022: 13 people were killed by a roadside bomb in Mandera County. Al-Shabaab was suspected.[69]
18 January 2024: A police officer was killed and four others were injured after an IED detonated inside a donkey cart at a checkpoint on the Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera County.[70]
Anti-terrorism legislation
The Kenyan Parliament is working on legislation focused on reducing terrorism.[1]
There has been opposition from Muslim, NGO and human rights groups. The bill aims to allow police to tap private communications, seize property and access the bank details of suspected terrorists.[71]
President Mwai Kibaki approved the Prevention of Terrorist Act 2012, Kenya's first piece of anti-terrorist legislation to be passed, on 2 October 2012.[72]
Dynamics
At the urging of al-Shabaab,[24] an increasing number of terrorist attacks in Kenya have been carried out by local Kenyans, many of whom are recent converts to Islam.[73] Estimates in 2012 placed the figure of Kenyan fighters at around 10% of Al-Shabaab's total forces.[74]
Referred to as the "Kenyan mujahideen by al-Shabaab's core members,[73] the converts are typically young and overzealous, poverty making them easier targets for the outfit's recruitment activities. Because the Kenyan insurgents have a different profile from the Somali and Arab militants that allows them to blend in with the general population of Kenya, they are also often harder to track. Reports suggest that Al-Shabaab is attempting to build an even more multi-ethnic generation of fighters in the larger region.[74]
One such recent convert who helped plan the 2010 Kampala bombings, but now cooperates with the Kenyan Police, believes that in doing so, the group is essentially trying to use local Kenyans to do its "dirty work" for it while its core members escape unscathed.[73] According to diplomats, Muslim areas in coastal Kenya and Tanzania, such as Mombasa and Zanzibar, are also especially vulnerable for recruitment.[74]
The 2002 Mombasa attacks were a two-pronged terrorist attack on 28 November 2002 in Mombasa, Kenya against an Israeli-owned hotel and a plane belonging to Arkia Airlines. An all-terrain vehicle crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hotel and blew up, killing 13 and injuring 80. At the same time, attackers fired two surface-to-air missiles at an Israeli charter plane. The Paradise Hotel was the only Israeli-owned hotel in the Mombasa area. The attacks were believed to be orchestrated by al-Qaeda operatives in Somalia in an attempt to disrupt the Israeli tourist industry on the African continent. Much speculation has occurred as to who the perpetrators are, but no complete list of suspects has been defined. The attack was the second al-Qaeda terrorist operation in Kenya, following the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998. Following the attack, the UN Security Council and other nations condemned the bombing.
Garissa is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
There is a significant crime rate in all regions of Kenya. Petty offences are the most common crime with stealing being the most reported crime. Robbery and theft are among the least cited criminal offences. Crime in Kenya is comparable to Tunisia, with a rate of 3.46 crimes per 100,000 people. However, crime in Kenya often goes unreported and police may lack the training or experience to effectively respond to crimes. Despite the reported low crime rate, Kenya faces significant challenges with organised crime, with many gangs working with corrupt police officers and sometimes even the government. Kenya has a criminality score of 7.02 on the Organised Crime Index, the 16th-most in the world, an improvement from 11th in 2021.
From late 2011 to 2014, Kenya experienced an upsurge in violent terrorist attacks. Kenyan government officials asserted that many of the murders and blasts were carried out by al-Shabaab in retaliation for Operation Linda Nchi, a coordinated military mission between the Somalian military and Kenyan military that began in October 2011, when troops from Kenya crossed the border into the conflict zones of southern Somalia. According to Kenyan security experts, the bulk of the attacks were increasingly carried out by radicalized Kenyan youth who were hired for the purpose. Kenya security officials also indicated that they were part of death squads, which carried out many of the killings under the orders of a government security council. By mid-2014, the cumulative attacks began affecting Kenya's tourism industry, as Western nations issued travel warnings to their citizens.
The Somali–Kenyan conflict has been an issue within Kenya since the colonial period. Problems have ranged from skirmishes between the two communities and have led to terrorist attacks, police harassment, extortion, home invasions, physical violence, and massacres perpetrated against Somalis and Kenyans.
On 21 September 2013, four masked gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping mall, an upmarket mall in Nairobi, Kenya. There are conflicting reports about the number killed in the attack, since part of the mall collapsed due to a fire that started during the siege. The attack resulted in 71 total deaths, including 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers, and all four gunmen. Approximately 200 people were wounded in the massacre.
On 4 May 2014, two improvised explosive devices exploded on buses in Nairobi, Kenya, killing three people and injuring sixty-two. Both of the bombs exploded northeast of Nairobi on the Thika Road, an eight-lane controlled-access highway, and detonated 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) apart. Twenty of the wounded were in critical condition after the blast.
On 16 May 2014, two improvised explosive devices were detonated simultaneously in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 12 people and injuring 70. The first blast came from a minibus and the second from within the market. Two people were reportedly arrested at the site of the explosions. Shortly after the attacks, hundreds of people swarmed onto the crime scene despite police efforts to stop them.
The following lists events that happened during 2014 in Kenya.
On 2 April 2015, gunmen stormed the Garissa University College in Garissa, Kenya, killing 148 people, and injuring at least 79. The militant groups Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, which the gunmen claimed to belong to, took responsibility for the attack. The gunmen took over 700 students hostage, freeing Muslims and killing those who identified as Christians. The siege ended the same day, when all four of the attackers were killed. Five men were later arrested in connection with the attack, and a bounty was placed for the arrest of a suspected organizer.
This article contains a timeline of events for the Somalimilitant group al-Shabaab.
The June 2016 Mogadishu attacks were two similar attacks on hotels that occurred in Mogadishu, Somalia on 1 June and 25 June 2016. Dozens of people were killed in the attacks and many more were wounded.
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
This is a 2017 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Salah Abdow Farah was a Kenyan teacher who lost his life after defending his fellow passengers on a bus. He survived the December 2015 attack but died on January 18, 2016, from complications after a surgery to remove a bullet lodged in his hip. His story of courage inspired the short film Watu Wote by Katja Benrath. At the time of his death, Farah was the Deputy Headteacher of Mandera Township Primary School.
From the 15 to 16 January 2019, a coordinated attack against civilians occurred at the DusitD2 complex in Westlands District, Nairobi, Kenya. The attack began at around 14:30 EAT (UTC+3), shortly after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the center of the complex at a restaurant. Four attackers associated with Harakat Al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen carried out a mass shooting for over 22 hours which left 21 civilians, one Kenyan soldier and all five militants dead.
The Latema road blast was a minor terror incident that occurred on 26 January 2019 on Latema road in Nairobi's Central Business District. The attack occurred after luggage containing an improvised explosive device detonated while it was being carried on a mkokoteni cart, injuring two people.
On 6 December 2019, at least 11 people, including seven police officers, were shot dead on or outside a bus in Kenya. The Medina Bus Company vehicle and its passengers were attacked on a road in a rural area between Wajir and Mandera in northeastern Kenya. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is a 2019 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
On January 31, 2022, al-Shabaab attacked a bus carrying civilians in Mandera County, Kenya, near the border with Somalia. Ten people were killed, and thirteen injured, in the attack.
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