The Brave Six – Cellulant’s Story

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13

They were a team – the more than 180 staff of Cellulant Corporation that arrived at work that morning. Computer whizzes, geeks, problem solvers, finance and legal folks. Men and women who loved breaking barriers, changing lives and doing the impossible through innovation and technology. In many ways the company that they worked for is the embodiment of the Kenyan identity, a snapshot on a world stage of our tenacity, our innovation, our hustle. For almost 18 years the company grew through fits and starts, refining its products, building its team, putting its stamp on the world. It’s the kind of place techies would be headhunted out of, then find there way back again, because the Cellulant pulse was what they lived for.

Ashford Kuria was one of those, he joined the group in 2006 straight out of his computer science course, left shortly to work for a multinational then returned. His growth from entry level to Head of Product Development was a testimony to his contribution to the company, and his unending usefulness as “the holder of all knowledge”. His colleagues called him a walking encyclopaedia – because he was that guy who knew something useful about everything. Knowledge geek Number 1, the one who would people would turn to, to make sure that they had thought about a problem from all angles. He was also the type who would hang out with his nephew playing endless rounds of video games, laughing with each successive round.

Rotarian Denis Mwaniki was the keeper of the keys – Head of Information Security for the Group, his work was to make sure Cellulant and their clients were always secure in a world fraught with hackers, cyber insecurity and digitally based crime. He held the fort and held it with such success the company became ISO certified under his watch. He married the love of his life Mary in 2018 and looked forward to a lifetime together.

Jeremiah Mbaria was yet another leader, leading the Hub team. Known as the guy people could call on when in a fix whether personal or professional, he was the one you would want in your corner. Fastidious about punctuality, he loved his role as a husband and father as much as he loved God.

John Ndiritu otherwise known as Mutts was the comedian of the company. Having a bad day? Find Mutts. In need of a laugh? Find Mutts and your mood couldn’t help but be turned around. As a Quality Assurance Tester he had his practical side, but above all he was a jovial guy in love with life, enjoying his new role as a father of a five month old baby girl, his dedication to his wife at the tender age of 29 clear to all who knew him.

Kelvin Gitonga was an out of the box kind of guy, the type that made Cellulant a natural home. A Hub Engineer who spoke Java Script and loved tinkering, one of his last personal projects was the assembly of an electric bike that would get him home to Kinoo from Westlands in an energy efficient way. His big brother persona was as important to him as his everyday job.

Wilfred Kareithi, aka Chief was a big guy with big heart. An Implementation Engineer at only 23, he started off as an intern at Cellulant in 2017, became self-proclaimed “Group Head of Interns” before securing his place in this global company with a Kenyan heart. Chief’s dedication to his job meant that on 15th January instead of being at an offsite First Aid training, he had slipped into the office to take a conference call with a client to allay any last minute concerns they had about a project that was going live the next day.

When an explosion went off at about 3pm on the 15th of January the Cellulant team was at work – some were in team meetings, others at their desks or chatting with colleagues as they navigated through the next solution to build. Group Home was on the 5th floor of the Cavendish building. It didn’t take long for people to start responding. Folks scrambled down the stairs, keeping low, holding onto each other for dear life. A first then second batch made it out of the building crossing over the small footbridge over Nairobi River to the adjacent ICEA park. The route was a lifesaver to over 80 people who made it through before an attacker began targeting those trying to use the safe route. Many had to fall back into the building to take cover.

Still in the building were a group 17 staff including some of the six who had gone back to make sure everyone had gotten out. The group broke into two. The first group of eleven headed back into the building to find shelter. The bathrooms felt like a safe option. Dashing towards them, men scrambled into the men’s room and women into the ladies. Ashford and a colleague hid in a stall together, trying hard not to breathe too loudly. It was quiet for a few minutes and Ashford quietly told his colleague “I think we are going to have to fight these guys”. To their dismay they heard an attacker come in. Heavy boots and noise heightened the terror they felt. The stall door was flung open and Ashford was taken out, his tall frame shielding his colleague inside. It was the last time he was seen alive.

At the ladies room, the women were cowering inside, holding each other in fear, praying silently for mercy. Miraculously the door had stuck, and all they could hear was a voice taunting them and banging on it “We know you are in there”. After what seemed like an eternity the boots faded away.

Using their real time connection to each other the team WhatsApp group was active – across the globe Cellulant Group MD witnessed the pain and anguish his team was going through, but also the way in which they rallied together. Team members were helping each other online, updating each other on where to stay safe, where they could hear the gunmen and where to take cover.

The second group of six had ran down the stairs to take shelter. Five men and one woman they made it to a stairwell and hid at the bottom. Messages still flying. In the saddest twist of fate their escape had been spotted by one of the gunmen, who followed them downstairs, taunting them with the raking of his gun on the metal staircase as he made his way down, step by step. The men moved their female colleague behind them, tucking her into the farthest reaches of the small hiding space. It was the last act of selflessness Denis, Jere, Mutts, Kelvin and Chief would perform before their lives were cruelly taken from them.

These Brave Six – Kenyan men who used their talents, ingenuity, and excellence on a daily basis to build better lives for their fellow humans across the continent and across the globe, were no more. At the end they were their best selves, a culmination of the sons, husbands, fathers they were brought up to be. Their loss is unfathomable to their friends and family, as is the loss of all who died on that dark day. We mourn with them. Their colleagues will have to find it deep within themselves to soldier through the gaping hole of their absence. It is a reality that will be felt each day as they come together to fulfil their mandates. In sorrow, we take pride in the stand they took in their final hours, choices to help others, to lead, to be their brother’s keeper – their sacrifices allow us to take heart that even in the most difficult of times the best of us shines through 
#KenyaUnbowed.