This archive report was first published on 12 January 2020.
On a fateful January afternoon in 2019, Alex Kariuki, a 33-year-old gym instructor, narrowly escaped death during the DusitD2 terrorist attack. He was working at the hotel's gym, D-Fit, when two terrorists stormed in, killing dozens of people.
As bullets flew around him, Kariuki managed to cling to the rafters of the hotel's roof, lying motionless on the ceiling for 20 hours. He recalls the ordeal, saying, 'I had just reported for the afternoon shift at the DusitD2 gym, D-Fit, at 1.00pm after securing a 56-day reliever contract.'
With no emergency exits familiar to him, Kariuki made a desperate decision to climb up the ceiling, using his fitness skills to hold on for dear life. He was hiding in a narrow gap between the roof and the ceiling, surrounded by piping, rafters, wiring, beams, and sheets of papers.
For 20 hours, Kariuki lay motionless, listening to the terrorists' movements below. He heard one of them say a prayer, and another time, he heard the sound of gunfire and the breaking of a door. Eventually, the police arrived, and Kariuki waited patiently, fearing that his voice might alert the terrorists or the police might mistake him for a terrorist.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kariuki heard voices from the roof above, and he knew the police were closing in. He waited another 30 minutes before cautiously climbing down from the ceiling. He was eventually rescued by Independent Policing Oversight Authority officials and taken to Aga Khan Hospital for medical assessment.
Since the attack, Kariuki has struggled to come to terms with the trauma he experienced. He has never heard from any government official or the hotel, and he has been left with a small scar on his left hand as a reminder of his close shave with death.
