NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 – Were it not for the 15-minute delay for an impromptu meeting, Sofapaka owner and President Elly Kalekwa would have been among the victims of the terrorist attack at the DusitD2 Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
Kalekwa, speaking to Capital Sport on Thursday afternoon said he was at the entrance of the hotel with his car undergoing the routine security check before the first set of bombs exploded at the entrance.
“I had just arrived and we were queuing for our turn to be checked and we were third in line before suddenly we heard a loud bang and suddenly the air was filled with smoke. I told my driver to turn because at first we thought it’s a robbery and in the middle of the confusion we managed to leave,” Kalekwa revealed.
He added; “When I got home and switched on the Television that’s when I realized what was going on. I was traumatized, I still am and I did not even tell my wife about it because I was shaken. I thank God that I am alive.”
-Impromptu meeting
The Congolese business mogul said he would have been inside the hotel earlier, were it not for an impromptu meeting he had with one of his associates.
“God does things in his own way. I just talked to him (business partner) on the way and I said I would meet him before going to the gym and that caused some delay. God knows that he still has a lot of work for me to do here and with the club to run,” Kalekwa further said as he also narrated the same story to his players after the Thursday afternoon session.
The siege that lasted almost 18 hours took 21 lives as at Wednesday evening, with figures released by the Interior Ministry through the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett.
A reported group of six gunmen, all murdered at the end of the siege by members of the elite General Service Unit Recce Squad stormed the business premise that hosts a number of companies and hotels at about 3:20pm Tuesday afternoon shooting at anyone and everyone the nozzles of their guns pointed at.
-Suicide bomber
A suicide bomber started off the gory terrorist attack before the other gunmen swung in, killing innocent Kenyans and expatriates who were going about their ordinary business of the day.
Among those killed is popular YouTuber and freelance journalist James Oduor alias Odu Cobra who worked at South Korean Electronics Company LG whose offices are located in the expansive establishment.