Lowkey Marking of Kikambala Bombing Anniversary

There were nearly zero activities to mark the 21st anniversary of the Kikambala bombing in Mtwapa, Kilifi County.

Officials said there were heightened anti-terror activities in various parts of the country even as the day was being marked on November 28.

Sources said that 21 years after the two-pronged terrorist attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, and an Arkia Airlines plane, security agencies are not leaving anything to chance.

“We don’t leave anything to chance. We are always on alert for the safety of all,” said a senior official who added they had disrupted dozens of planned attacks.

November 28, 2023, marked 21 years since the terrorists used an all-terrain vehicle and crashed through a barrier outside the Paradise Hotel and blew up the facility.

And given the anniversary came at a time when Israel and Hamas are engaged in a war over the October 7 massacre, there were fears local remnants would stage an attack.

Even though there were low activities to mark the anniversary, vigilance remained and remained higher, officials said.

The attack was a major setback for hotels on the Coast as most tourists avoided the region. This was further aggravated by travel advisories issued by Western countries to their nationals.

That sealed the facility’s fate.

Paradise was one of the Israeli-owned facilities that tapped into the Kenyan tourism business before the waves of terror attacks.

The country offered a perfect tourism opportunity for foreign investors but insecurity brought about by terror attacks have pushed many out of business.

A suicide bomber detonated explosives while two others drove past the barrier and crashed into the hotel’s reception desk, detonating an explosives-laden car.

This led to the killing of at least 15 people and injured more than 80 others.

Of the 15 people killed in the attack, 12 were Kenyans while the rest were Israeli tourists.

The Kenyans were members of a troupe performing a welcome dance for the arriving guests.

Victims of the attack and their families have been converging at the deserted hotel to pray for the souls of their departed relatives.

The attack came four years after the 1998 US Embassy bomb attack.

In the embassy attack, 201 Kenyans and 12 Americans were killed; 4,000 people were injured.

It prompted the government to employ various tactics to address the menace.

The agencies have come up with different measures to address increased threats from terrorists.

These included enhanced sharing of intelligence reports on the same, more training on security agencies and bringing of new laws to tame the trend.

Still, the attackers have come back years later and in a different form to strike in Kenya killing and disrupting many lives amid operations to stop their plans.

Officials say they have disrupted tens of similar plans that have made Kenya safer.

The Kikambala attack ushered in a gradual decline in the facility’s appeal to the international tourists who called the hotel their second home.

Security officials say they are aware some remnants of those behind the attack may try to mark the day in a different way and have been making efforts to stop the same.

Israel’s Arkia Airlines, which used to bring tourists to the Coast, stopped flying the Mombasa route after an attempted missile attack by Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists on the same day as the hotel attack.

The plane, carrying 250 passengers and 10 crewmembers, had taken off from Mombasa’s Moi International Airport when the terrorists fired the missile. It missed its target.

Before the attack, the hotel used to boast more than 100,000 annual international tourists. November is a peak season for the tourism sector in the Coast.

On that day, as a group of 230 guests were leaving the hotel, another 250 tourists were checking in. All the guests were Israelis.

At the gate, a troupe of Giriama dancers were dancing to bid goodbye to outgoing guests and welcome the incoming ones. Most of the incoming tourists had already been ushered into the waiting lounge at the reception but a small group had joined the traditional dancers.

It was then that the attack took place.

Officials say the Kikambala bombing marked the first time the industry experienced serious external shocks and has never fully recovered.