Remembering August 7: The bomb created waves on the ground, we had to crawl

It stated as a normal day – August 7, 1998. There were no indications that this was going to be a tragic day. The streets of Nairobi were a buzz with humanity – people going about their day.

It being a Friday – the early weekend mood was already picking up.

Motorists were still trying to beat the stubborn Nairobi traffic. There were people on the streets of the capital. People had plans.

David Okuku had left his office at the AGIP House – along the Haile Selassie Avenue – where he worked as an accountant for a multinational company at the time.

“I had left the office at around 10am that Friday to go cash a Cheque at the Co-operative bank, at the ground floor of the Co-operative House,” remembers David, 26 years later.

That same day David was scheduled to travel to the village in Nyanza, to attend a one-year anniversary meeting for his late father the following day on August 8.

“I had even booked a bus, and was due to travel up-country later that evening of August 7,” he says.

The queue at the bank was long – and winding – extending outside and ending just next to the Ufundi house – says David.

Ufundi House was sandwiched between the Co-operative House and the US Embassy at the time.

“I remembers there had been a strike by bank workers that week, which had led to delays and the subsequent long ques.

“I remember seeing many workers from then Nairobi City Council at the bank. It was flooded by people looking to be served. It didn’t help that it was a Friday,” says David.

David had also planned to rush to the 11th Floor of the Co-operative House to fetch a friend for a planned cup of tea at a restaurant in the same building.

“I had battled between thoughts as the line kept dragging. I decided to wait a bit longer at the line,” he says.

Then, just as he was about to be served – a fairly loud bang, reminiscent of a gun-shot, was heard.

“It sounded like a gun, or a tyre burst. It was not very clear what it was,” says David.

Since there had been strikes that week – many thought that the sound may have been from rioters milling around Moi Avenue.

“I personally thought that it was a tyre burst from one of the Number 11 matatus that used to park just near the Moi Avenue Roundabout.”

A second blast would follow around five minutes later. This was much louder. It shook the building, causing panic. This happened just before midday.

“A third blast followed almost in quick succession. It was so loud and powerful it created waves on the pavements. It was like a sea of waves."

The force sent everyone to the ground – and people could only crawl out of the building on their bellies. There was smoke everywhere – remembers David.

“There was this woman who kept holding my right leg firmly and dragging me – refusing to let go.” 

Glasses were falling all over the place. Up to this moment – people thought that Co-operative House had been bombed.

“I lost my glasses. I also lost my sweater, which I had worn all the while. I don’t know how my sweater left my body,” says David.

David would crawl to safety moving between bodies – and headed back to the office which was several blocks away.

All the buildings along Hailie Selassie Avenue were shaken by the blasts, and even had broken windows.

“God saved me that day. I remember later learning that everyone at the restaurant – where I was to go have tea with my friend – had died, save for a helper, a young lady who had gone one out to deliver food to a school.

David would come back to the scene several minutes later – after things had ‘settled’ down.

“I saw that a pick-up truck had been smashed against the wall of the Co-operative House. I saw a police officer in uniform – dead but still holding a gun.”

“Then there was this bus, charred remains of a Kenya Bus on Hailie Selassie Avenue, just before the Moi Avenue roundabout. I counted four to five passengers. People who had died on their seats I guess from the heat.”

David’s friend who had been on the 11th Floor of the Co-operative building survived – but had to undergo several eye-correction surgeries to remove glass particles.

The nearly simultaneous bombs blew up in front of the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Today the area has been turned into a memorial park, which serves as a centre of outreach to educate Kenyans on the appalling consequences of terrorism and violence.

Today, Kenya marks the 26 anniversary of the August 7 bomb blast.