Kenyan leaders hail Bin Laden killing

Written By:Rose Kamau/PPS,    Posted: Mon, May 02, 2011

The attack in Nairobi killed over 200 people

President Mwai Kibaki on Monday hailed the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces.

Bin Laden was killed on Sunday by US forces in Pakistan according to President Barack Obama.

"On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Kenya I commend all those people behind the successful tracking down and killing of Osama bin Laden," said President Kibaki.

He said the killing of Bin Laden comes nearly thirteen years after terrorist bombings in Nairobi which left over two hundred people dead, in an act believed to have been masterminded by Osama.

"His killing is an act of justice to those Kenyans who lost their lives and the many more who suffered injuries," said President Kibaki.

Prime Ministr Raila Odinga said Bin Laden has been responsible for the world's worst terror atrocities, which have cost thousands of lives.
"We in East Africa have had personal experience of this horror, and today's news brings to the forefront of our minds the August 7, 1998, attacks on the US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam," said Odinga.
"We remember those who lost their lives on that day, and also those left bereaved or maimed. Although the lives of the survivors will never be the same, the death of Osama bin Laden is some kind of justice for them," he added.
However, Odinga said war against terrorism must go on.
"In Kenya, our work to protect the innocent against terrorist acts will continue hand-in-hand with the rest of the world. Violence has never successfully changed societies, and never will," he said.

And in a statement, government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua said the killing of Bin Laden was a defining moment in the fight against terrorism.

"As a country and a region, we are realistic that terrorism is an ideology that will not end overnight due to Osama Bin Laden's death but hope that his death will be the beginning of the end of terrorism. As a country, we have to remain vigilant and work with our partners to fight this international crime," said Dr Mutua.

In 1998 terrorists believed to have been linked to al-Qaeda carried out simultaneous bombings on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bringing to the attention of the public for the first time the activities of the al-Qaeda network and resulted in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation placing bin Laden on its Ten Most Wanted list.

In Nairobi, approximately 212 people were killed, and an estimated 4,000 wounded; in Dar es Salaam, the attack killed at least 11 and wounded 85. 12 of those killed were Americans.