When a major security incident like a terrorism attack happens, everything either grinds to a halt or the super fast-forward mode is activated.
If you are a civilian, you take flight from the scene but if you are a security officer, your fight instincts kick in and you run into the gunshots, explosions with little regard for your own life.
That was probably the case for one Recce Squad officer who arrived at the scene moments after the terrorists struck at Dusit hotel complex on 14 Riverside Drive wearing green flip flops.
His colleagues were all decked out in full combat gear ready to take on the terrorists but in came this hero cop wearing nothing but a black t-shirt, black jean trousers and a grey cap. Oh, and the green flip flops. Quite an entrance.
A few minutes later, the officer, who was clutching some big semi-automatic assault rifle capable of dispatching any terrorist into the afterlife without a struggle. To be honest, unless you looked down at his feet, he didn’t look like anything was awry.
He looked just as comfortable as his colleagues in combat boots, bulletproof vests and knee pads
As someone with a lot of experience in walking in flip flops, I can guess he probably felt weird walking around with flip flops and they probably made a lot of noise when he needed stealth in tracking the terrorists inside the Dusit complex.
A few moments later, our hero emerged again, barefoot, with no flip flops in sight, leading a police car into the Dusit complex entrance again, looking unbothered and only focused on the job at hand.
Also, this time, his clothes appeared soiled possibly from all the positions he took to deal with the four terrorists and help rescues hundreds of people.
A Twitter user claimed that the dirt was as a result of heavy fire which forced the officer and his colleagues to take cover in a muddy trench.
“This guy is an officer. They came under fire,then took cover in a mtaro ya sewage full of mud. shoes ikabidi atoe aache hapo ju they got stuck in the mud. That’s why he’s in slippers. He risked his life to save lives, even when barefooted before he was given these slippers,” tweeted @WeThePeopleKE1.
As if his heroics were not enough, some users on social media decided to try their own version of CSI Mucatha and pointed some far-fetched similarities between him and one of the terrorists.
One of the reason people “suspected” the two were the same person was because their caps looked to be the same colour and they were wearing them backwards.
Before long, our hero had been turned into a villain and his image was circulating online until it took the intervention of KTN journalist Yussuf Ibrahim who asked people to cut it out.
“Please let’s stop putting this officer on the spot I was with him whole day…he together with his team responded on time notice he is even minus proper footwear..He is not a terrorist,” tweeted Ibrahim.
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Please let's stop putting this officer on the spot I was with him whole day...he together with his team responded on time notice he is even minus proper footwear..He is not a terrorist..#RiverSideAttack
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Former Mathare MP Steven Kariuki agreed with the journalist saying he even offered him his shoes going as far as nominating him for a Head of State commendation.
Please let's stop putting this officer on the spot I was with him whole day...he together with his team responded on time notice he is even minus proper footwear..He is not a terrorist..#RiverSideAttack
True real life hero @YussufIbra i removed my own shoes and gave him. He deserves Head of State Commendation (HSC).
See Hon. Steven Kariuki's other Tweets