Traders who had various businesses at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi which was attacked by terrorists linked to the Somali militant group, Al Shabaab on September 21, were on Monday counting their losses, as it emerged that some of the security personnel deployed to deal with the attackers turned to looting.
The government has admitted looting took place and conceded that some of the security personnel had looted some of the shops. At least three people have been arrested over the looting claims. A police officer has been arraigned in court over the looting.
Banks, M-Pesa shops, Forex bureaus and other businesses at the high end mall were reportedly ransacked during the four day stand -off between the security personnel and the attackers.
"Some people have reaped big from the mall tragedy, leaving us to count huge losses. People have no sympathy," lamented one of those who had an M-Pesa business in the mall.
He said there was no time to lock the shops or keep money during the attack as there was panic when the shooting started.
The traders were shocked at what they saw when they were allowed to visit the premises to inspect their businesses. The government has remained non committal about compensation with the Cabinet Secretary in charge of East Africa Affairs, Trade and Tourism Phyllis Kandie saying the government would appoint a team of stakeholders to assess the extent of the loss.
Meanwhile it has emerged that the number of those earlier reported unaccounted for Monday reduced from 61 to 39 after the Kenya Red Cross announced that 14 people had been located in various hospitals while 7 others had been confirmed dead and in various morgues in the city.
Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku announced Sunday that 9 suspects were in custody and that a vehicle used in the attack had been recovered with an assortment of weapons.57 Kenyans and 10 foreigners were killed during the attack.
Among the foreigners killed were the famous Ghanaian writer Prof Kofi Awonoor, the author of This Earth, My Brother who was in Kenya to speak at a literary forum. His son who was with him survived with injuries.
Kenyan security officers with the help of officers from the Interpol, Israel, the US, Canada were still pieces information together to unravel the details of the attack which caused extensive devastation to the mall.
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| Security personnel: Did some of them loot? |
Banks, M-Pesa shops, Forex bureaus and other businesses at the high end mall were reportedly ransacked during the four day stand -off between the security personnel and the attackers.
"Some people have reaped big from the mall tragedy, leaving us to count huge losses. People have no sympathy," lamented one of those who had an M-Pesa business in the mall.
He said there was no time to lock the shops or keep money during the attack as there was panic when the shooting started.
The traders were shocked at what they saw when they were allowed to visit the premises to inspect their businesses. The government has remained non committal about compensation with the Cabinet Secretary in charge of East Africa Affairs, Trade and Tourism Phyllis Kandie saying the government would appoint a team of stakeholders to assess the extent of the loss.
Meanwhile it has emerged that the number of those earlier reported unaccounted for Monday reduced from 61 to 39 after the Kenya Red Cross announced that 14 people had been located in various hospitals while 7 others had been confirmed dead and in various morgues in the city.
Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku announced Sunday that 9 suspects were in custody and that a vehicle used in the attack had been recovered with an assortment of weapons.57 Kenyans and 10 foreigners were killed during the attack.
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| Prof Kofi Awonoor. He was killed in the attack. |
Kenyan security officers with the help of officers from the Interpol, Israel, the US, Canada were still pieces information together to unravel the details of the attack which caused extensive devastation to the mall.
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