Located at the intersection of Moi and Haile Selassie Avenues, the August 7th Memorial Park hosts special memories to Kenyans and especially the families of the victims of the 1998 terrorist attack on the US embassy.

Although the park is now a sight to behold due to the landscaping, 25 years ago, no one in their wildest imagination would think that the grounds would be as spectacular as they are today. As Kenyans mark the bomb blast memorial today, People Daily team toured the park where we caught up with George Oningo who served as our guide.

“Welcome to the August Memorial Park. Where were you then?” Oningo begins our tour by asking where I was when Al Qaeda attacked the American embassy on August 7, 1998.

Yours truly was one year and three months old when it happened, a response that makes Oningo laugh out loudly. Then Oningo jumps quickly into his role which is to show us round.

From the gate, we walk to the lush garden with indigenous plants carefully selected from different parts of the country to signify that each Kenyan was affected by the blast.

This also applies to the rock-beds that line the walkway. They were collected from riverbeds in various parts of the country.

Ying yang

From the scent of the flowers to the sight of familiar plants, Mother Nature here nurtures inner calmness in you as you take a seat on the benches and enjoy the view.

“This place was designed to bring calmness to those who visit it. Though we are just next to a bus terminus, the reality is that when you walk in, you feel some sense of peace and relaxation,” says Oningo who has worked here for close to 10 years.

Oningo takes us to the fountain right in the middle of the park, made in the famous Chinese ying yang sign bubbles which symbolizes calmness.

“Hearing and seeing the continuous, endless flow of the water, is soothing, calming and mesmerizing,” he says.

On the other end of the park is a sculpture, made from debris from the blast. Together with the memorial wall, these structures are symbolic in that they commemorate the people who lost their lives in the blast.
Their names are inscribed on the wall, a tribute of remembrance to each and every one of them, never to be forgotten.

The park also has wooden benches bearing different peace messages written in Kenyan languages.

12,000 visitors

Oningo then takes us inside the memorial peace museum. In the museum is a memorial room where the names of all the people who died in the attack are inscribed.

The walls of the museum also bear stories of those who survived and peace quotes from famous global leaders.
On of the quotes is by President William Ruto: “If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies.”

A tour in the park also gives you an opportunity to watch a 55-minute film summarizing what happened on that day, a quarter of a century ago. The Memorial Park attracts 12,000 visitors every month.
It is open daily, 365 days a year, from 7am to 6pm. A fee of Sh40 is charged at the entrance which goes towards the maintenance of the park.

Some of the notable leaders who have visited the park include former US President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden.

As the country marks the memorial of the blast today, Oningo hopes that survivors can get compensation to enable them move on with their lives.

“Most of them visit us and sometimes you just have to shed a tear. The US government should compensate our people the same way it did to her citizens ,” he says.