Buses blown up in attack in Nairobi

Pictured: The buses hit by the explosions.

Three people were killed and more than 50 injured in near-simultaneous explosions in Nairobi on Sunday. One of the explosions went off on a 52-seater Githurai bound bus at the Homeland bus stop opposite Garden City, outside Homeland Inn near Kenya Breweries at around 5.05pm. A second explosion was in a Mwi Sacco bus at the Kasarani underpass at around 5.29pm. The second bus was headed for Mwiki. Both buses were coming from the city center.

It was also reported that a third explosion went off at Mwiki shopping centre about six kilometres from the Kasarani underpass.

It was not immediately clear whether the explosives had been thrown at the buses or whether they exploded from inside the bus although preliminary investigations suggested that the explosives were hurled at the buses. They are thought to have been Improvised Explosive Devices.

The explosions prompted a police barricade on the busy superhighway forcing motorists to use alternative routes to and from the city center. Those injured were rushed to medical facilities by emergency personnel and Good Samaritans.

Dr Antonio Milito of Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital where most of the victims were taken before being transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital said the hospital received two bodies and more than 50 injured people.

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) received 16 women, 11 men and four children. One woman, was declared dead on arrival while six were in critical condition, chief executive Lilian Tare told the Press.

The attacks occurred barely 24 hours after similar atrocities targeting upcountry buses in Mombasa on Saturday night. In Mombasa, a new order has been issued to screen everyone using roads leading to beaches in Mombasa after an explosive went off at a Nyali beach and another exploded at a bus stop, killing three people and injuring 24 others on Saturday night.

CORD has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of government forces from Somalia to reduce terrorist attacks on Kenyan soil. A statement released by their interim party chairman, Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o, criticized the government's ill-conceived and poorly executed plan to rid the country of militants.

The attacks occur even as Kenyan leaders are scrambling to play key roles in bringing peace to neighbouring countries including South Sudan and Somalia despite being unable to contain runaway terror within our borders.