21 people were killed and 28 others injured in the Tuesday attack. Kenya Red Cross says all people reported missing have been accounted for. Photo/CFM.
NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 18 – The 14 Riverside Management, has confirmed ongoing compliance with security requirements, asking its stakeholders to adhere to restrictions placed by investigating teams at the site of the Tuesday terror attack that left 21 people dead.
While conveying sympathies and condolences to all the bereaved and affected families, the 14 Riverside Management, said the firm is providing the necessary support to the investigating teams currently on site at the business complex.
In a media statement, the 14 Riverside Management, described the tragic incident as “a rather traumatic experience”, that they would wish to erase from their minds but we cannot afford to forget.
“The management of 14 Riverside, wishes to offer our sincere condolences and sympathy to the families and friends of our brothers and sisters, who lost their lives following the attack. We are praying and wishing for a speedy and full recovery to all those who were injured.” The statement from 14 Riverside Management spokesperson Alfred Ng’ang’a said.
Police on Friday said they were closing in on more suspects believed to have played part in the attack, after the arrest of 9 on Thursday.
The new arrests brings to 11 the number of suspects taken in so far—and includes Ali Salim Gichunge—the main planner earlier thought to have been killed when the Tuesday attack was staged, killing 21 people. The attack was staged by five terrorists and all died—one having blown himself up while four were shot dead.
The senior police officer briefed on the investigations progress said detectives were convinced that Gichunge was dead, after his neighbours reported that the vehicle that ferried terrorists there belonged to him.
“He is in custody, there must have been confusion because his vehicle was at the scene,” a senior police officer said, but referred us to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further details, “it is a very sensitive investigation, and we are not allowed to speak much about it.”
Gichunge, who is also known as Farouk from Isiolo, is the owner of the house in Ruaka that was raided by police soon after the attack, and is in custody alongside his wife Violet Wanjiru aka Kemunto who publicly identifies herself as an Al Shabaab bride, according to her neighbours and friends.
The rest of the suspects were arrested in Nairobi, Mombasa and Western Kenya—having been linked to the attack from their constant communication with terrorists, including in Somalia.
The statement from 14 Riverside Drive Complex confirmed that the firm’s immediate concern at the moment, is the comfort of all affected families and persons. “The management of 14 Riverside is providing support to enable all the affected persons to speedily recover and come out stronger from this terrible incident.” The statement said, and added that, “We also wish to condemn in the strongest terms possible the heinous terrorist attack as we join the Kenya Unbowed chorus, noting that, such heinous acts, do not have a place in modern society. We have been injured but we refuse to be cowed by such cowardly acts, which only serve to renew our commitment to overcome all forms of violence, oppression and discrimination.”
The Kenya Red Cross on Thursday announced that all the people reported missing after the attack had been accounted for, effectively bringing to an the search mission.
At the scene of the attack, bomb squad unit officers and detectives from other units were still searching for evidence, after finding grenades left behind by the terrorists.
A diplomat who attended a government briefing on Friday morning said they had been assured that the site will be handed over back to the management, with police dusting the scene expected to vacate by Friday evening, as investigations continue.
High ranking government officials who spoke to Capital FM News said they are determined to ensure the complex resumes business as soon as possible.
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