All Saints’ Cathedral Nairobi has dismissed the viral planned terror attacks report in the church targeting congregants.
Terming the reports false and misleading, the church’s management, in a statement via its official X account on Monday night, January 13, 2025, urged its congregation and followers not to fall for them.
In addition, All Saints’ Cathedral stated that it has not been reported nor have the relevant security agencies briefed it on any planned terror attacks.
“We urge our congregation and followers to not fall for this information. It is false and misleading. All Saints’ Cathedral has not reported nor been briefed on any planned terror attacks.
“We encourage you to be alert and verify any information before circulating it,” All Saints’ Cathedral’s statement on the circulating planned terror attacks reads.
Past terror attacks
Kenya has been a victim of terror attacks by the Somali terror group Al Shabab, with the latest being on January 15, 2019, when five militants stormed 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi.
The attack claimed 22 lives.
On September 21, 2013, Al-Shabaab launched an attack on Kenyan soil where 62 civilians and five Kenyan Defence Forces officers lost their lives during the four-day siege.
During the attack, four attackers entered the Westgate Mall in Nairobi and shot and killed several civilians; however, the security forces, supported by international partners, managed to kill all four attackers in their response.
Al Shabab financier
The US Africa Command (USAC) on Monday, January 7, 2025, confirmed that al-Shabaab leader Mohamed Mire, also known as Abu Abdirahman, who served as the militant group’s finance head during the Westgate Mall and Dusit-D2 attacks in 2013 and 2019, respectively, was killed in an airstrike on December 24, 2024.
According to the reports by the USAC, it initiated the airstrike near Quyno Barrow, some 260 kilometres from Mogadishu, killing two al-Shabaab militants, including Mire.
The statement further stated that Mire was al-Shabaab’s finance head during the Westgate Mall and DusitD2 attacks.
“Mire, also known as Abu Abdirahman, was responsible for al-Shabaab’s regional governance in Somalia for the last 15 years. In addition to being one of al-Shabaab’s longest-serving members, Mire served as the interior minister and played a key role in the group’s strategic decision-making. He has been involved with al-Shabaab in financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or executing attacks in both Kenya and Somalia,” the United States military command in Africa, AFRICOM, said in a statement.
We urge our congregation and followers to not fall for this information. It is false and misleading. All Saints' Cathedral has not reported nor been briefed on any planned terror attacks.
— All Saints' Cathedral, Nairobi (@allsaintsnrb) January 13, 2025
We encourage you to be alert and verify any information before circulating it. pic.twitter.com/kswnbPthhU
