August 7, 2020 marked 22 years since the first deadly bombing witnessed in Kenya in 1998, which targeted the US Embassy in Nairobi situated at the Haile Selassie Avenue/ Moi Avenue roundabout at the time.
According to multiple reports that time, the first and most crucial witness of the attack was Benson Okuku Bwaku who was manning the gate on the fateful day.
The terrorists were in a truck and attempted to enter the premises just as the barrier was lifted to allow a mail cart.
However, Okuku was quick to replace the barrier, denying the terrorists access.
They demanded him to allow them to pass but he stood his ground and demanded documentation.
Realising that they were running out of time, the terrorists threw a grenade at him but he managed to duck and run inside the embassy to call for backup. Before he could reach, the grenade detonated and threw him 4 feet into the air.
He staggered across the highway and into an embassy parking lot, where he collapsed. He was found two and a half hours later by colleagues from the security firm.
The bombers then forced their way into the premises by breaking the barrier and crashing into the premises where they detonated the explosives that killed over 200 people and injured more than 5,000.
Okuku miraculously survived the blast and helped in the investigations that ensued. He was able to recognise the driver after FBI agents showed him photos of terror suspects from their database.
That helped trace his associate masterminds who were identified as Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah.
"I wasn't scared. I was firm in my duty. I concluded that if I can't be firm in my duty, these guys could get entry to the basement and the whole house would have been blown down. Nobody would have lived. Everybody would have died.
"I was not armed, but I was brave enough. I wish I had a gun. I would have gunned the guy down," the guard told US media.
