Scot has his fingers and nose hacked off in attack

A SCOTTISH security worker suffered life-threatening injuries during a horrific attack outside his home in Kenya, his mother said yesterday.

Mike Minihane, 45, previously of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, lost his fingers, nose and part of his jaw in the attack by a gang of men armed with knives, axes and AK-47 assault rifles in the Nairobi suburb of Karen.

Mr Minihane was returning home with his wife, Christine, and their five-year-old son, Connor, on 13 June when he was set upon. He suffered the injuries as he fought back against the five attackers.

He underwent eight hours of surgery in a Nairobi hospital in which his fingers were reattached.

The bandages were removed from his face yesterday. It is understood that he did not suffer any brain damage as a result of the attack and is already able to walk a few steps.

He is now expected to have further reconstruction work carried out to rebuild his face.

Helen Minihane, from Dollar, said: "They hacked off his fingers, but they have been reattached. He suffered a fractured skull and I believe he lost his nose, part of his jaw and his teeth. He may have to have a metal pin put behind one of his eyes. But he can walk and talk and he's quite lucid."

Mrs Minihane continued: "I am still in shock and can't believe this has happened. My son is such a handsome man; I'm trying not to imagine what he looks like now. It's just sickening to think about this – agonising. But I'm so thankful that he's alive."

Mr Minihane, who has dual British-Irish nationality, has worked in Kenya for about ten years.

He was on a month's leave when he was attacked, in what is thought to have been an attempted home invasion.

Karen police Inspector Maranga described the attack as particularly brutal.

"Mike Minihane opened the gate for his wife to drive through when the gang approached him at gunpoint and attempted to force him to enter the car where his wife waited," she said.

"Mr Minihane then grabbed the gun and began to fight the men, whereupon they attacked his face and head with axes.

"The wife, hearing the commotion behind the car, sped up to the house to push the panic button and lock her young son away upstairs."

Mrs Minihane was said to have missed being shot by just inches. It is thought that the gang escaped on foot.

Ms Maranga said that it was a common tactic to use the victim's car to gain access to their home and then spend the entire evening there, and that rape was usually involved.

"When Mr Minihane fought off the attackers it gave his wife the seconds she needed to escape," she added. "He probably saved his family's life."

Home invasions and car jackings are on the rise and becoming a common occurrence in Kenya, but are rarely publicised.

"We don't want to lose tourism dollars," confessed one safari owner, speaking anonymously.

"The absolute truth is that if you live in Kenya for any length of time, you will be car-jacked, killed, kidnapped or your home invaded. It's just a fact of life out here."