Tears as Cellullant Employees Pay Tribute to their six colleagues killed at Riverside

A memorial service has been held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday for some of the victims of last week’s deadly hotel and office complex attack.

Twenty-one people were killed last Tuesday when gunmen from the al-Qaeda-linked armed group, al-Shabab, raided the upscale DusitD2 complex.

Cellulant, an online payment company headquartered at the compound which was attacked, lost six of its employees in the siege. “Ashford was a dear brother to me,” Alex Kimani, a colleague of Ashford Kuria, who died in the attack, said during the memorial service.

“He mentored many directly and indirectly. He challenged each and every one to grow. He was our go-to guy when you had a problem or needed a solution to solve anything,” Kimani added.

Hundreds attended the church service for the Cellulant employees that honoured what the memorial programme described as “The Brave Six”.

The Brave 6:
They put their lives on the line in a true act of leadership, selflessness and bravery to save the lives of their fellow colleagues in the Riverside terrorist attack in Nairobi. #CellulantBrave6 pic.twitter.com/BJOZilq8uc

— Cellulant (@Cellulant) January 19, 2019

It said 17 staff members tried to flee the office during the January 15 attack but were met with a “barrage of gunfire”.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday that the attackers behind the siege which lasted for more than 18 hours were killed.

Since then the Kenyan government has taken measures to find anyone connected to the assault, and prevent further attacks.