- Security agents said they had increased the level of alertness and vigilance to avert any form of marking of the anniversary by remnants of the terror group al-Shabaab which was behind the incident.
- Five terrorists attacked the complex on Riverside Drive in Nairobi on January 15, 2019, leaving 22 people dead.
Kenya and the world marked the fourth anniversary of the DusitD2 attack with a hunt for a wanted mastermind of the incident and high level of alertness.
Security agents said they had increased the level of alertness and vigilance to avert any form of marking of the anniversary by remnants of the terror group al-Shabaab which was behind the incident.
Five terrorists attacked the complex on Riverside Drive in Nairobi on January 15, 2019, leaving 22 people dead.
Security sources said they were on alert and urged for continued vigilance.
Last Thursday on January 12 the US Rewards for Justice programme said it will pay up to Sh1.2 billion to find Mohamoud Abdi Aden, a Kenyan national suspected of heading the al-Shabaab terror cell that carried out the attack.
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman alongside Director of Criminal Investigations Amin Mohamed called for information on any other individual involved in the attack on the complex.
Kenyan tips can be shared through WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal via +254 71 8712 366 and Somalia tips via +252 68 43 43 308, they said.
"During the assault, al-Shabaab gunmen armed with explosives, automatic weapons, and grenades attacked the DusitD2 commercial centre, a 6-building complex of shops, offices, and a hotel.
At least 21 people, including one US citizen, were killed in the assault," the US said in a notice.
The announcement came days to the fourth anniversary of the Dusit attack on January 15.
Officials said there was a possibility the cell leader at large was trying “something” hence the move.
US counter-terrorism officials who accompanied the ambassador said it took them four years to link Aden to the attack following credible intelligence.
In October 2022, the US categorised Aden as a specially designated global terrorist.
The 2019 attack began at 3 pm when the attackers set fire to three vehicles parked outside the Dusit Hotel complex.
It was followed by an explosion by a suicide bomber outside the restaurant.
A siege followed, but security agencies responded and managed to rescue more than 700 people including more than 70 US citizens.
The attack and others that have occurred in the country have changed many things including the way security agencies work.
They have since embraced a multi-agency approach to address any such plans and attacks.
The attack began at 15:28 with a detonation of a suicide bomber, Mahir Riziki.
Four gunmen – Ali Salim Gichunge, Osman Ibrahim Gedi, Siyat Omar Abdi, and an unknown individual – then proceeded with the attack using AK-pattern rifles and grenades, targeting people within the DusitD2 Hotel and surrounding shops.
The terrorists’ images emerged in December 2020 when al-Shabaab released a seven-minute clip showing them preparing to attack the complex.
The attack resulted in 22 civilian deaths.
The four gunmen also died in the attack.
Officials say the DusitD2 attack was carried out on a significant date, coinciding with the third anniversary of al-Shabaab’s overrunning of a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) base in El Adde, Gedo region.
Suspects Mire Abdulahi Ali, Mohamed Hussein Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali are facing at least five charges in connection with the attack where 22 people were killed and dozens wounded.
The charges include conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, aiding and abetting a terror act, committing fraud in the registration of documents and facilitation of a terror act.
The attackers had planned to stream the attack live on social media.
Their plans were cut short by the swift response from security agencies and other parties.
They were all killed a few hours later.
The hotel was reopened and closed months later due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The complex has since changed ownership. Other businesses are operating in the area.
The attack was claimed by al-Shabaab, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, which has repeatedly targeted Kenya over the presence of its troops in Somalia.