Nairobi blast sparks fresh fears of terror attack

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By KENNEDY MURITHI and BERYL WAMBANI newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, May 28  2012 at  22:30

The ghosts of past explosions revisited Nairobi on Monday after a period of relative calm.

A powerful blast ripped through Assanand’s House on Moi Avenue at lunch hour leaving people scampering for safety.

The incident, which caught traders unawares, sent cold shivers down the spines of even those who were in offices.

“A jet of fire, a resounding bang, a collapsing roof, billowing smoke filled the sky,” Ms Laila Mohammed said.

Ms Mohammed was looking out through a window at the Nation Centre when the explosion went off.

“I was numb even as commotion erupted around me. I had just witnessed a horrific scene even as I inhaled what seemed to be fine dust laced with smoke,” she said.

Rescue teams, the police and people of goodwill rushed those who were injured to various hospitals.

The blast, which drew multitudes of curious onlookers, caused major traffic snarl-ups, prompting the police to close sections of roads leading to the city centre.

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Firefighters from the nearby Nairobi City Council fire station with the help of the public rushed to put out a fire that was threatening to consume the entire building.

They contained the blaze after a 30-minute battle. A traffic police officer, who was among the first people to arrive at the scene, said it might have been a grenade explosion, going by its magnitude.

However, Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere, who visited the scene moments later, ruled out the possibility of a grenade attack.

“We cannot immediately establish the cause of the explosion but preliminary reports gathered point to an electrical fault,” he said.

He said experts from Kenya Power would be called in to do their investigations as the entire area was cordoned off. He later said the explosion could have been caused by an improvised explosive devise (IED).

However, Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojodeh could not rule out the possibility of a terror attack as he called on Kenyans to be vigilant and report suspicious characters to the police.

Mr Ojodeh said it could have been the work of Al-Shabaab insurgents who have on various occasions attacked the country since the Kenya Defence Forces launched a foray into Somalia.

“So far, police are questioning five people in connection to various attacks that have rocked the country in the past few months. I want to assure Kenyans that the government is doing all in its capabilities to make sure they are safe,” he told journalists after visiting the scene.

He said police would hasten their investigations into the blast and a comprehensive report would be released later. Earlier, a thief who was masquerading as a Kenyan of goodwill was beaten by onlookers as he tried to loot merchandise from the stalls.