Survivor remembers colleague killed in Dusit terror attack

What you need to know:

  • Team leader praised as a man who loved his job and encouraged junior employees

  • Technician who lost his workmate says deadly experience has brought him closer to God

For LG Electronics technician Charles Mukinyua, Tuesday was another ordinary day as he reported to work at Hannover Building on 14 Riverside Drive.

“I arrived on time, settled down and went about my duties. I was at my desk in the afternoon as is the routine when all hell broke loose,” he said.

Mr Mukinyua’s calm world was shattered by gunshots and two explosions outside.

He and his colleagues rushed out. Urged on by his team leader James Radido, popularly known as Cobra, the group opted to use the stairs instead of the elevator.

A horrifying scene awaited them as they headed for the first floor.

GUNMEN

“We came face-to-face with the attackers. One of them shot at us from close range," Mr Mukinyua said.

He turned and ran, wishing he could fly from death.

“As we sprinted, I decided to find the most distant place where the gunmen could not find us," he said.

For Mr Mukinyua, there was only one option: the air conditioner vent in the ceiling.

“As a former air conditioner technician, I had an idea of how to reach there. I had a feeling that it was the safest place,” he said.

The shaken and terrified men entered the shaft and hid.

“We were just the four of us in the shaft. ‘Cobra’ was missing, but I assumed he outran the gunmen and hid elsewhere,” Mr Mukinyua recalls.

His colleagues were crying and praying, but the approaching footsteps convinced everyone to remain dead silent.

“The gunman came in, shot at the computers, desks and windows and left. I have never been so terrified,” he told the Nation.

The group heard the terrorists as they prowled the building, shooting their hapless victims.

DESPERATE

Dark, desperate thoughts of his colleagues’ fate kept circling Mr Mukinyua's mind as the shooting and explosions went on.

“I kept wondering if ‘Cobra’ had made it out of the building,” he said.

The technician’s phone was still on and he figured out that it would be his only link to the world outside.

Mr Mukinyua sent a text message to his girlfriend and other close friends, informing them that he was trapped in the building.

“She was shaken, but replied, encouraging me to remain calm. My phone was on silent mode as I did not want to alert the terrorists of my location in case it rang,” he said.

An uneasy calm returned after hours of shooting. Mr Mukinyua and his friends were too shaken to attempt leaving the shaft.

“We remained quiet most of that time. Communication was only through whispers. We were praying while two others were crying,” he said.

He added that he was later startled by approaching footsteps.

“They sounded deliberate, almost as if the people knew what they were looking for,” he said.

Mr Mukinyua shut his eyes and whispered a prayer. He then looked down, hoping they would not detect his presence. The men were speaking in English in a British accent.

“I heard them call my name? 'Charles, are you in there? Open up, this is the police,’” he said.

Mr Mukinyua and the others said no word as the knocking continued.

“We were sure it was a trick to get us out. There was simply no way we were going to open the door and welcome certain death,” he said.

He sent out another text message to his contacts telling them about the knock on the shaft entrance by a group of men.

He received a reply telling him the knock was from security agents who had been informed of his plight.

“Do not be afraid. We are the ones who informed them of your whereabouts. Just allow them in,” the text said.

He opened the door, and the white police officers asked him if he was Charles.

“They then escorted me to a waiting ambulance downstairs,” he said.

HUMBLED

As he walked the stairs, Mr Mukinyua saw the carnage the terrorists visited on the building.

“The walls, furniture and floors had blood, phones, pens, ties and other personal effects. There were bullet holes everywhere. It was as if a monstrous creature had emptied its rage on the establishment,” he added.

Then his eyes settled on a figure on the floor. It was his friend and team leader.

“I almost collapsed when I saw his body while being taken downstairs. I could not bring myself to believe it was Cobra,” Mr Mukinyua said.

Paramedics took him to Avenue Hospital where he was treated and discharged.

During the time he was holed up in the shaft, Mr Mukinyua had time to take selfies.

The LG technician is saddened by the death of his colleagues and acquaintances.

“During the attack, ‘Cobra’ helped everyone by telling us to avoid the windows. He is the one who told us to use stairs,” Mr Mukinyua said.

Of the 30 to 50 LG Electronics employees on the third and fourth floor of Hannover building, ‘Cobra’, is the only one who died.

Mr Mukinyua remembers ‘Cobra’ as a jovial team leader, “who always encouraged us to work hard.” When he joined LG, he said, ‘Cobra’ welcomed him. “It’s almost impossible to come to terms with his death.”

He said the ordeal made him reflect on the ‘delicate and easily expendable nature of my humanity’. “The long stay in the ventilator shaft humbled me. I had time to think about my life. I am much closer to God now,” he said.