"My Brother Led The Dusit Attack" – Who was Ali Salim Gichunge, His Sister Speaks | Iko Nini Pt 1

🕊️ On January 15, 2019, gunmen attacked the DusitD2 complex on 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi and 21 people were killed. In Part 1, Amina, the older sister of Ali Salim Gichunge, the man named as the attack's mastermind, tells Iko Nini about the brother she grew up with and the day the family found out. She describes an army kid from Isiolo who loved dancehall, rugby and the journalism club. He was bullied at school, broke his leg and spent three years bedridden, sat KCSE from a hospital bed, and saw his IT dream fall apart before he ended up working in a cyber café. Then he changed: he smashed his CDs, started wearing a long kanzu, was angry after Westgate, and left home in 2015 for Lamu and then Somalia. He found her on Facebook in 2017. Then came the breaking news and the CCTV image. Amina says their mother, who had reported him missing, was arrested. She also says the government "knew he joined Al-Shabaab" and still issued him a certificate of good conduct, and that the family then lost their business, their schooling and their peace with the neighbours. The Journey After: Stories of Survival and Resilience. Kenya–EU Partnership Project for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NSPCVE) NEED HELP OR WANT TO REPORT SOMETHING? If you or someone you know needs counselling, guidance, or you want to report a suspicious activity, contact the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC): 24HR EMERGENCY HOTLINE (Toll-Free): 0800 721 600 or 1531 https://counterterrorism.go.ke/ Your identity will be kept confidential. Views and claims in this conversation are the guests' own. We remember the victims of the DusitD2 attack and their families. Could you forgive the family of an attacker? Tell us in the comments 👇 SIGN UP ON LemFi using the IKONINI referral code, click on this link https://referral.lemonade.finance/invite/jmbLoTGSeDjjrCQa9 Iko Nini is a Kenya podcast that covers everything Kenyan entertainment, politics & social issues SUPPORT IKO NINI THROUGH CASHAPP $IKONINI BECOME A MEMBER FOR EARLY ACCESS & EXCLUSIVE CONTENT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5h4-WH0LAV4CWs380yM33A/join CHAPTERS 0:00 Coming up: who's Amina? 1:07 Related to a dark day in Kenya's history 1:24 Seven years after Dusit: does it get easier? 2:20 Why she agreed to talk despite the judgement 3:29 Amina, sister of Ali Salim Gichunge 3:44 Growing up in an army family in Isiolo 7:05 Ali's dad moves to Nairobi: the absence begins 8:06 What kind of kid was Ali? 9:41 Same mum, different dads: finding out in high school 11:45 Dancehall, Isiolo nights & Radio Citizen 14:51 Stepdad Salim: strict on school & religion 19:22 Not raised 'deep Muslim': the madrasa in the plot 21:11 Bullied at Mudhambi: broken leg, bedridden 3 years 24:51 KCSE from a hospital bed & a C+ 28:54 Computer classes & an IT dream that fell apart 32:39 Robo met Ali at the Isiolo cyber café 36:54 Job hunting & army cadet dreams 39:59 Hustling mtumba socks 43:51 Turning religious: guilt & five prayers a day 47:35 Smashing his CDs & the long kanzu 52:37 Westgate anger & the red flags 57:16 Fight with mum & moving out in 2015 58:25 Safari Park Hotel, Lamu & the last call 1:00:50 Somalia 1:04:49 He tracked her down on Facebook 1:07:39 December 2017: the last chance to come home 1:10:18 January 15, 2019: breaking news 1:16:35 The CCTV image: 'We were 100% sure it was him' 1:19:50 Mum reported him missing, then she was arrested 1:24:50 'The government knew he joined Al-Shabaab' 1:27:20 'You gave him a certificate of good conduct' 1:29:26 Asking forgiveness for the victims 1:30:34 Lawyers, a collapsed business & Dad summoned by DCI 1:34:13 Neighbours, police & living in fear #IkoNini #Dusit #DusitD2 #Kenya #KenyanPodcast