At least 500 lives have been lost due to terror attacks in Kenya since the bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi by Al-Qaeda terrorists in 1998.
The data was released on Wednesday by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
In the 1998 bombing which occurred on August 7, there were 213 fatalities (201 Kenyans and 12 Americans).
During the September 21, 2013 Westgate mall attack by the al Shabaab, 67 lives were lost.
Two years later on April 2, 2015, al Shabab carried out another attack at the Garissa University and killed 148 people, mostly students.
Four years later on January 15, 2019, there was another terror attack in Nairobi at the Dusit D2 highrise complex which lead to the death of 21 civilians and five attackers.
"So far, approximately 500 lives have been lost through terrorist attacks," Kindiki said.
The CS was responding to questions asked by the Senate on how many individuals have died from terror attacks since the 1998 bomb last.
On what measures the government has put in place to boost counter-terrorism efforts and safeguard the lives and property of Kenya citizens, Kindiki revealed that specialised units have been put in place.
Some of the units include Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, National Counter Terrorism Center, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Financial Reporting Center, Coastguard, Trans National Organised Crime Unit and Asset Recovery Agency.
The government has also set up an establishment of Personal Identification Secure Comparison and evaluating System in immigration services.
"The government has also held continuous training and deployment of specialised Formed-up Police Units (SOG, QRU, GSU) at the Kenyan borders," Kindiki said.
The CS also boasted of the multi-agency cooperation with national security organs (KDF and NIS) which has improved efficiency since the 1998 terror attack.
On the legislative side, the Interior CS said at least 9 laws have been enacted to curb terrorism in the country.
They include Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012, Security Laws Amendment Act, 2014, Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, 2018 and Amendments to the Anti-Narcotics Act.
Other laws are amendments to the Refugee Act, amendments to NGO's Act, amendments to the Firearm's Act to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and amendment to the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act.
President William Ruto has been against terror attacks in Kenya and beyond its borders.
Ruto said through common endeavour, leaders have the power to rebuild stable societies and secure the people’s well-being.
"We must dismantle terror networks and financial support infrastructure; this must be complemented by countering radicalisation and the propagation of extremism," he said.
