Hard questions emerge over handling of terror attack

Did the masterminds of the Westgate terror escape within an hour of launching the attack? Could the terrorists who remained behind to continue the senseless killing and repulse security forces also slip away unnoticed?

And what is the fate of the hostages thought to have been held in the siege? What about the destruction of the mall, did the military bomb it? And who looted the shops?

These are some of the hard questions that Kenyans are seeking answers to as sources reveal new accounts that have not been formally released by the government, further intensifying the mystery that surrounds the four-day siege.

Multiple sources, including some police officers who made the initial response to the distress call, confirmed that the first group of terrorists may have escaped within an hour into the attack.

Some are said to have changed their clothes, dropped their weapons, and ran out alongside terrified civilians. The government has repeatedly denied that any of the attackers escaped despite eyewitness accounts and confirmation by police officers, who spoke to the Sunday Nation in confidence.

REMAIN UNACCOUNTED FOR

The terrorists believed to have been left behind also remain unaccounted for — days after the siege ended. This brings to question the exact number of those involved in the deadly assault.

On Monday, as the military launched what was described as the “final assault” to take back the mall, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku said there were between 10 and 15 terrorists inside holding at least 30 hostages. More than 1,000 people were said to have been evacuated.

Later, Mr Lenku announced that five terrorists were killed after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) took over the building on Tuesday. However, he remained tight-lipped on the whereabouts of the bodies and the identity of the terrorists. Also unclear is the fate of the remaining terrorists, who should be at least 10 based on the figures provided.

“Five suspected terrorists were killed during the operation and the ongoing forensic investigations will ascertain their identities. When complete, these investigations will answer the questions being raised about their nationalities and gender,” said Mr Lenku.

The government is also yet to release details of a suspected terrorist, who reportedly died in hospital from bullet wounds last Saturday, a few hours after the attack began.

Fresh details about how the remaining terrorists could have escaped further deepen the mystery. Security officials who spoke to the Sunday Nation suspect the al-Shabaab killer gang that repulsed an elite military squad may have escaped through an underground tunnel that connects the mall and an adjacent building — about 100 metres away.

“The tunnel is big enough for an adult to walk through comfortably,” said our source, who declined to be named for his own safety.

The identity of the attackers also remains a grey area with conflicting reports about the involvement of a woman.

Mr Lenku initially denied a woman was part of the attackers, but he later admitted the possibility of British fugitive Samantha Lewthwaite, nicknamed the “White Widow” or “Dada Mzungu” (White Sister), leading the attack, after his Foreign Affairs counterpart Amina Mohammed made the claims in an interview with a US TV station.

Interpol has now issued a “red alert” notice for the capture of the “White Widow” at the request of the Kenyan authorities. The woman is, however, not seen in the CCTV footage of the attack viewed by the Sunday Nation. But some eyewitness accounts indicate a woman was leading the terrorists.

Latest intelligence reports seen by the Sunday Nation show that the mastermind of the Westgate massacre is suspected to be a 50-year-old Kenyan, Abu Sandheere — an associate of slain Al-Qaeda leader Fazul Abdulla.

At least 67 people, including six security officers, are said to have died in the attack while 175 are recorded to have been injured. It is suspected more bodies are buried under the rubble — something the government does not seem keen to acknowledge.

Even then, the puzzle of missing persons has left more unanswered questions. Red Cross figures show that at least 61 people have been reported missing.

But Mr Lenku said: “According to police records, there are no formal or official reports of missing persons who could have been at the mall during the time of the attack.”

The destruction of Westgate, including the collapse of a section of the building, has raised further questions as experts told the Sunday Nation that it must have been caused by a “huge explosion”.

On Monday, the Interior minister explained that billowing smoke was from burning mattresses lit by the terrorists to distract the security forces. However, sources within the military later said the fire was started by the Kenyan security forces. 

When the final onslaught was launched on Monday, it was confirmed the terrorists may have been holding some hostages. However, after the siege ended on Tuesday, there was no information on the fate of the hostages.

Instead, Mr Lenku talked of an “insignificant number” of bodies — a reference that stirred outrage on social media.

Retired military captain Simiyu Werunga said the terrorists either bombed the building or KDF was responsible for the explosion.

“Booby traps cannot bring down a building and neither can ordinary rifles. It requires extra firepower to do that. Probably there were bombs and when these guys (terrorists) felt they were being cornered they exploded the place.

The other scenario is the military did it, because we are talking of Special Forces who use fire power superior to rifles. But we cannot be sure because we didn’t see them,” he said.

Capt (rtd) Werunga said besides bombs, the explosion could have been caused by rocket propelled grenades. His views were supported by two other security experts, who cannot be named because they are serving officers and cannot comment on such sensitive matters.

According to Capt (rtd) Werunga, the terrorists had enough time to assemble improvised explosive devices and make bombs.

“The security officers gave them enough time to do it, bearing in mind that whatever they required had allegedly been brought to the building before they struck. From Saturday to Monday, that was enough time. If so, they must have strapped them from pillar to pillar. One explosion would trigger off the next and so on,” he added.

Another security officer indicated that Nakumatt supermarket and chemists within the mall provided perfect ingredients to make a bomb.

Reports of confusion during the operation have also raised questions on coordination during such attacks. An elite police unit drawn from the Recce squad of the GSU had apparently pinned down the terrorists on Saturday before KDF arrived.

This changeover allowed the terrorists to regroup and in the confusion, led to the shooting of a GSU commander. The mission was effectively taken over by KDF chief Julius Karangi even though Inspector-General of police David Kimaiyo was nominally in charge.

Some people who entered the building after the siege was over have also said that Automated Teller Machine had been vandalised, probably with explosives, and money stolen. Inside the banks, it was reported that some safes had been tampered with by force. However, the military has denied the claim. (See separate story).

On Friday, Mr Lenku said those who operated business in the mall had been allowed access to take inventory of their property.

The BBC spoke to Ms Irene Anyango, manager of a jewellery shop at Westgate, who claimed that 90 per cent of her stock had gone missing.

“It’s not the mall you used to see... things are spoiled, glasses are broken, everything is everywhere,” the BBC quoted her as having said.

Forensic and ballistic experts —including some from US, Israeli, Britain, Germany and Canada — are combing through the rubble to establish the nature of weapons used as well as identity of attackers and hostages.

The number and identity of those arrested has also been contradictory. Last week, there were reports that at least 11 people were in custody, including a Briton arrested at the airport. No evidence has so far been found to link him with the attack. Three had, however, been released.

Well placed security sources said only two suspects were arrested in the mall. One of them, Mr Gitonga Ali, is being treated at the Forces Memorial Hospital while the other is said to have died from gunshot wounds at the Aga Khan Hospital.

Mr Lenku said police were holding eight suspects as they sought to unmask the faces behind the worst terror attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi in which more than 200 people died.

Pathologists are expected to begin work at the destroyed mall on Monday when it is expected the forensic experts would have finished combing through for evidence. “Westgate mall remains a scene of crime and access remains limited,” said Mr Lenku.

Reports that hostages held by the terrorists were tortured have been confirmed, but what really happened remains a mystery.

We have died for far too long for nothing, so let’s fix the Kenya

There are times when this country unites fervently in the face of adversity, and this was on display ten days ago when terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall.
Support for the security personnel involved in the operation was unanimous, and it was fantastic to see the volunteer spirit at work as citizens helped to rescue and transport the injured, while others brought food and refreshments to the soldiers and emergency-response personnel on site.
This column salutes the gallant spirit of the security personnel, as well as the volunteers who gave up time and resources — and ran the risk of possible injury from the militants barricaded inside the shopping mall. Our condolences go to the family and friends of those who tragically lost their lives in the atrocity, including President Uhuru, who lost family in the attack.
Systemic failures
The hard questions will already be coming out behind the closed doors and curtained windows of the intelligence and security superstructure of the country. This column has, in the past, lamented the here-today-gone-tomorrow focus of our police where security is concerned. We just don’t seem to have the required patience to painstakingly follow leads and use the intelligence garnered from them to secure the country

The terrorist atrocity was spectacular and sudden, but if we look closer, we will no doubt find that it was a result
 of systemic failures in security. Our policing is rather haphazard, and seems more geared towards allowing the police to make a quick shilling via extortion, rather than actually providing citizens with the security they deserve and expect.
As we ponder this, nothing has been done about the Baragoi massacre in which dozens of police officers were slaughtered after being led into an ambush thanks to faulty intelligence, poor kitting and questionable command. The supervisors of the police force are still in office; no one ever took responsibility for the atrocity. And that was that. No one was fired for it, and it appears to have quietly receded into the hidden recesses of our collective national memory.
No stone unturned
Every so often, we have fitful initiatives, like the long-planned sweeping up of illegal arms. But political expediency intervenes and the initiatives are quietly shelved. The government has long promised to “beef up” security in northern Kenya, especially on the borders with Somalia and Ethiopia. One of the reasons that locals in those regions have firearms is to defend themselves against livestock rustling from neighbouring countries. Of course, securing the borders against such incursions, in the first place, would make it unnecessary for the locals to have firearms, and would also ensure that foreigners do not infiltrate the country to sell weapons or engage in terror activities.
But that sounds like asking too much. Every week, Kenyans are killed in various parts of the country as a direct result of lack of adequate police work. The much promised “we will leave no stone unturned” action never quite materialises, and we quickly go back to waiting for the next atrocity.
When will this vicious and tragic comedy stop?

Kenya tourist arrivals in Mara drop as wildebeests return to Tanzania

Tourist arrivals in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve dropped by about 50 per cent over the weekend compared to 98 per cent in the previous one, hoteliers said.
They observed on Sunday that the drop was expected and it had no connection with the Westgate Mall terrorist attack or travel advisories by foreign governments.
“We expected the arrivals to plummet around this time when wildebeests are migrating back to Tanzania where they came from in mid-July. There is nothing unusual. It is not connected to the Westgate Mall attack or the recent travel advisories by the US and the UK,” said Theophilus Shumwe, Camp Manager at Tipilikwani Mara Camp.
More arrivals are expected during the Easter weekend next year.
Arrival of tourists and other visitors is expected to peak again in mid-December to early January.
A survey by The Standard in most exclusive tented camps in various conservancies, however, established that they were fully booked, with proprietors saying they expect more arrivals even after the peak season, which is on a homestretch, ends.
“We expect more visitors even after the season ends. We have not received any cancellations even after Westgate Mall was attacked by terrorists,” said William
 Siara, a consultant tour guide with the exclusive Oleleshwa Camp outside the park.
Siara added that travel advisories were uncalled for, saying terrorist attacks were a global problem.
Hoteliers spoke as security remained tight in the Mara, with the General Service Unit checking arrivals at Sekenani, Oloolaimutia, Musiara, Oloololo and Talek gates. The Kenya- Tanzania border has also been secured, police sources said.

40 Nigerian male students killed after suspected Boko Haram militants storms College

Suspected Islamist militants stormed a college in northeastern Nigeria and shot dead around 40 male students, some of them while they slept early on Sunday, witnesses said.

The gunmen, thought to be members of rebel sect Boko Haram, attacked one hostel, took some students outside before killing them and shot others trying to flee, people at the scene told Reuters

"They started gathering students into groups outside, then they opened fire and killed one group and then moved onto the next group and killed them. It was so terrible," said one surviving student Idris, who would only give his first name.

"They came with guns around 1 am (2400 GMT) and went directly to the male hostel and opened fire on them ... The college is in the bush so the other students were running around helplessly as guns went off and some of them were shot down," said Ahmed Gujunba, a taxi driver who lives by the college.

Boko Haram, which wants to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has intensified attacks on civilians in recent weeks in revenge for a military offensive against its insurgency.

Several schools, seen as the focus of Western-style education and culture, have been targeted.

Boko Haram and spin-off Islamist groups like the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru have become the biggest security threat in Africa's second largest economy and top oil exporter.

 Western governments are increasingly worried about the threat posed by Islamist groups across Africa, from

 

 Mali and Algeria in the Sahara, to Kenya in the east, where Somalia's al-Shabaab fighters killed at least 67 people in an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall a week ago.

Bodies were recovered from dormitories, classrooms and outside in the undergrowth on Sunday, a member of staff at the college told Reuters, asking not to be named.

A Reuters witness counted 40 bloody corpses piled on the floor at the main hospital in Yobe state capital Damaturu on Sunday, mostly of young men believed to be students.

The bodies were brought from the college, which is in Gujba, a rural area 30 miles (50km) south of Damaturu and around 130 miles from Nigerian borders with Cameroon and Niger.

State police commissioner Sanusi Rufai said he suspected Boko Haram was behind the attack but gave no details.

 

Revenge attacks

Thousands have been killed since Boko Haram launched its uprising in 2009, turning itself from a clerical movement opposed to Western culture into an armed militia with growing links to al Qaeda's West African wing.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three northeastern state in May, including Yobe, and ordered a military offensive to crush Boko Haram's insurgency.

There was an initial lull in the violence as Islamists fled bases in cities, forests and mountains. Then the militants began revenge attacks on schools, security forces and civilians believed to be helping them.

In July, suspected Boko Haram militants killed 27 students and a teacher at a school in Potiskum, a town about 30 miles from the site of Sunday's attack.

Several hundred people have died in assaults over the past few weeks. Some observers say the army offensive has only succeeded in pushing attacks away from well-guarded large towns and cities into vulnerable rural areas.

Boko Haram's insurgency is also putting pressure on the economy of Africa's most populous nation. Nigeria's security spending has risen to more than 1 trillion naira ($6.26 billion) per year, or around 20 percent of the federal budget. ($1 = 159.8 Nigerian naira)

 

Eyewitnesses accuse police of complacency (+playlist)

Man Found Dead In House Full Of Snakes

Police looking for a missing man were shocked to find him dead in his home — surrounded by over forty giant snakes.

Many of the reptiles, including a 30ft anaconda and four 35ft pythons, were slithering free around the decomposing
body when police entered snake fan Heiko Rieder's apartment in Straubing, Germany.

A fire service spokesman said: "At least one was as thick as a human thigh."

Worried colleagues alerted police after the 40-year-old caretaker failed to turn up to work for a week.

It is thought he died from a heart attack while feeding his pets.

Experts believe he was only saved from being eaten as he was too WIDE to be swallowed whole.

Reptile centre boss Markus Baur, now caring for the snakes, said: "They probably didn't eat him for two reasons. One, they prefer their prey alive to start with.

"And two, they like to eat their prey whole and the average European adult is just too long and wide for that."

In total, 46 snakes, some in tanks, were recovered from the property.

A police spokesman said: "His body decomposed rapidly because of the heat coming from the snakes' terrariums. There don't appear to be any suspicious circumstances."

The south china morning post this week reported of the nuptials between china and Kenya. The two countries “exchanged vows of friendship and spoke of widening economic and political co-operation”. Agreements worth sh425 billion signed with china on Monday. Certainly there is value in Kenya expanding her traditional friendships and seeking to create new ones. But advice from us President Barack Obama offered on his Africa tour in June is worth remembering. He said: make sure it’s a good deal for Africa’ in reference to foreign interests here. Tonight on checkpoint we are asking is china offering Kenya a good deal. Joining us now to discuss the eastern dragon is strategist Moses Kuria just back from Beijing and our in house political analyst prof Edward Kisiangani.

THE FORCE CONTRIBUTION HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS??? IN THE WORLD??? JUST BECOUSE THE PRESIDENT RELATIVE IN DEAD

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY FORCES KENYAN DIPLOMATIC STAFF TO CONTRIBUTE TO UHURU'S NEPHEW FUNERAL. THOSE WHO DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO BE RECALLED OR TO FACE IMMEDIATE SACK!! YES WE ARE ONEndering!!

INSTEAD OF THE JUBILEE GOVT CRITISIZING THE US GOVT FOR ISSUING TRAVEL ADVISORY TO THEIR CITIZENS WHO WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL TO KENYA, WHY DON'T THEY DO THE SAME AND ISSUE A TRAVEL ADVISORY TO KENYANS WHO WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL TO THE US. THEY SAID THEY DO NOT NEED THE WEST AND ESPECIALLY THE US AND THAT THEY NEED ONLY CHINA AND RUSSIA. SO WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM NOW?

Kenya Saturday criticized Washington for issuing its latest travel advisory in the wake of last weekend’s terror attack at the Westgate shopping mall.

A statement from State House said the country had ‘noted with concern’ the re-issuing by the US government of the advisory terming the move ‘unnecessary and uncalled for.’

This is despite pleas by President Kenyatta and former Prime Minister to western countries to reconsider the move.

“We wish to unequivocally condemn the re-issuing of the travel advisory, and reject it as unnecessary and uncalled for,” read the Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“Terrorism, such as in the attack on Westgate Mall, is a global problem. The United States itself, has suffered terror attacks before, and so have other countries right across the globe,” it went on.

“We have made these points clear to the United States government through the usual diplomatic channels. Issuing travel advisories, such as this one, are not what we expect of our friends with whom we have enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations for a long time.”

The government said it expected support from friends of the country, which it called on the US government to withdraw the advisory.

Thursday, the US government warned its citizens considering travel to Kenya to evaluate their personal security in light of continuing and recently heightened threats from terrorism and the high rate of violent crime in some areas.

“In light of the recent attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, the U.S. Department of State has reissued its Travel Warning of July 5, 2013, which warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Kenya,” they warned.

The siege at the mall by suspected members of the Al Shabaab terrorist organisation left at least 67 people dead and scores others injured. At least five US citizens were injured in the attack.

The State Department said it continues to receive information about potential threats aimed at the interests of Western countries in Kenya including those in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Read the advisory; “Although these restrictions do not apply to travellers not associated with the U.S. government, U.S. citizens in Kenya should take these restrictions into account when planning travel. The Embassy regularly reviews the security of these areas for possible modification.”

“There are no restrictions on U.S. embassy employee travel to Kenya's most popular tourist destinations such as Masai Mara, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Tsavo, Lamu Island, Hell's Gate, Samburu, Mount Kenya, Malindi, and Nairobi,” it added.

The UK’s Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) has also advised its citizens against all but essential travel within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border

Security chiefs hard-pressed to explain how powerful explosives entered Kenya

The country’s security agencies are on the spot over embarrassing security lapses that led to the deadly terrorist attack that killed 67 people, including civilians, security forces and at least five terrorists.

Also likely to come under serious scrutiny are the all-too obvious contradicting statements issued by senior government officials suggesting a deliberate campaign of misinformation or bungling by the government in a bid to down-play the magnitude of the terror attack.

Among those on the spot:

Joseph ole Lenku, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government

As Cabinet Secretary in charge of national security, Mr Lenku was the “official” government spokesman, charged with giving periodic updates on the progress of the campaign to neutralise terrorists and free hostages.

In one such update, Mr Lenku appeared to contradict his Cabinet colleague in charge of Foreign Affairs, Ms Amina Mohamed, on the possible involvement of a white female terrorist in the attack.

Mr Lenku had also exuded confidence when he declared that the evacuation of hostages had gone “very, very well” and that Kenyan officials were “very certain” that few, if any hostages, were left in the building, only for President Kenyatta to reveal that there could be bodies trapped in the collapsed mall.

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo

As the man directly in charge of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, charged with detecting and combating terrorism, Mr Kimaiyo will be hard-pressed to explain the agency’s failure to detect movement of the huge cache of arms to the scene of the terror attack.

He will also be at pains to explain the rather slow police response and the glaring absence of a central command and clear rivalry between the various police units and the KDF, leading to the fatal shooting of the GSU officer by KDF personnel.

Mr Kimaiyo may also want to explain a rather misleading tweet to the effect that his forces had “taken control of all the floors. We’re not here to feed attackers with pastries...”, only for bursts of gunfire to erupt from the Mall the next morning, indicating the terrorists were far from vanquished.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo
Ms Omamo will be hard-pressed to explain the likely possibility that external aggressors could have sneaked in, even as the Kenya Defence Forces under her watch engaged Al-Shabaab at its doorstep in Somalia.

Kenya Defence Forces chief, General Julius Karangi

Gen Karangi will need to explain the lack of a clear command between the various police units and KDF resulting in the fatal shooting of the GSU officer by his officers.
National Intelligence Service Director General Michael Gichangi

Mr Gichangi is on the spot over the agency’s failure to detect the movement of the huge cache of arms used and why the Service failed to detect the presence of the terrorists.

The agency came under severe criticism during an emergency session by Parliament, with the MPs demanding a major overhaul of the NIS, accusing it of gobbling up billions of shillings without any tangible results.

“The intelligence department also needs radical surgery,” Lagdera MP Mohamed Shidiye said.

Directorate of Criminal Investigation Director Ndegwa Muhoro

Mr Muhoro will be held to account over his Directorate’s failure to detect the terrorists’ presence, movements and operations.

The Department of Immigration

The department, which falls under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, will also be under pressure to explain the issuance of travel documents to criminals from foreign countries after it emerged some of the terrorists could be foreign nationals.

One suspect in the attack is said to be a foreigner holding Kenyan passport.

Kenya 'at war' with al Shabaab, faces security questions

Kenya is "at war" with Islamist militants who attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, the government said on Saturday as it faced questions about whether it had received advance intelligence warnings of the deadly strike.
A week after the raid on the Westgate shopping centre that killed 67 civilians and police and was claimed by the Somali militant group al Shabaab, the government has been trying to reassure Kenyans that it can protect them from further attacks.
Three Kenyan newspapers reported on Saturday that a year ago the country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) had warned of the presence of suspected al Shabaab militants in Nairobi and that they were planning to carry out "suicide attacks" on the Westgate mall and on a church in the city.
In front-page stories, the Nation, Standard and Star newspapers questioned whether the Kenyan government and military may have failed to act on this and more recent warnings this year by local and foreign intelligence services.
"It is not a 'yes' or 'no' answer," Mutea Iringo, principal secretary in the Ministry of Interior, told Reuters.
"Every day, we get intelligence and action is taken as per that intelligence and many attacks averted. But the fact that you get the intelligence does not mean something cannot happen," the senior official added.
"What we are saying is that we are at war, and that every day some young Kenyan is being radicalized by al Shabaab to kill Kenyans," Iringo said, calling on citizens across the east African nation to be alert and cooperate with authorities.

The newspaper reports emerged ahead of a meeting on Monday of the Kenyan parliament's defense and foreign relations committee which is expected to ask security chiefs how much warning they had of Saturday's assault.
In the mall attack that extended into a four-day siege, gunmen fired on shoppers and tossed grenades leaving a trail of victims and shocking Kenya and the world. Al Shabaab said it acted in revenge against Kenyan troops who have been fighting it in neighboring Somalia for two years.
Britain's government said on Saturday a sixth British national had been identified among those killed at the mall. French and Canadian nationals also died.
The Star quoted another NIS briefing in February warning of a gun and grenade attack in Kenya similar to a three-day killing spree by militants in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.
In an editorial, the Standard said the reports pointed to "obvious" security lapses. "It is becoming increasingly apparent that the country's top security organs may have received adequate briefing on imminent terror threats," it said.
 Why they did not act in time to save the needless deaths at Westgate is astonishing and dumbfounding," it added.
The possibility that al Shabaab, which has carried out previous smaller gun and grenade attacks in Kenya, may be planning further high-profile strikes presents a major security challenge for President Uhuru Kenyatta, elected in March.
But the incident has also rallied foreign support for him as he confronts charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He denies charges of orchestrating violence following Kenya's disputed 2007 elections.
FORENSIC PROBE UNDER WAY
Five of the mall attackers were killed and Kenyan authorities say they are holding eight people over the raid, which confirmed Western and regional fears about al Shabaab's ability to strike beyond Somalia's borders.
It also dented Kenya's vital tourism industry, although the Finance minister says it will not have a long-term impact.
Kenyan officials have not so far specified the identities or nationalities of the attackers, saying forensic investigation of the wrecked mall building and of the dead will take time.
This has produced a deluge of unconfirmed speculation that radicalized diaspora Somalis from the United States and Europe may have been involved in the al Shabaab operation.


U.S., Israeli and European forensic experts are helping Kenya in the investigation.
A week after the attack, the five-storey, beige-colored mall remained sealed off to the public. From outside, a spray of bullet holes was visible around one upstairs window.
A team of foreign officials wearing white protective clothing and yellow boots could be seen leaving the mall escorted by an armed man wearing a black flak jacket.
Kenyan and Western officials have said they cannot confirm speculation that Briton Samantha Lewthwaite, widow of one of the 2005 London suicide bombers, had a role in the mall attack. Some survivors said they saw an armed white woman.

Kenya requested a "red alert" wanted notice issued by Interpol for Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow" by the British media, but said she was wanted in connection with a previous 2011 plot that was also linked by police to al Shabaab.
With the country's security services on high alert, some Kenyans said they were worried that the government may have failed to act on prior intelligence information.
 "It sounds like laxity. If you get warnings ... you have got to listen to those warnings," said businessman Vipool Shah.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY AFTER THEIR MAKING, SHOCK AFTER REVELATION THEY MIGHT HAVE MORE TO TELL KENYANS

Skip trials at own peril Fatou Bensouda warns Deputy President William Ruto

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has fired a warning salvo to Deputy President William Ruto that he risks arrest if he skips trial proceedings without permission of the judges.
The warning comes just days after the office of the prosecutor suggested somebody else should be sworn in on a temporary basis to discharge Ruto’s duties as deputy head of state.
“The Prosecution notes Ruto is not here (ICC voluntarily, but on compulsion of summons and risks arrest if he defaults,” Bensouda warned as she opposed Ruto’s plea to the Appeals Chamber to lift an order compelling him to be in court.
The Chief Prosecutor maintained Ruto is an accused person before the ICC and while presumed innocent, “cannot expect that life would continue normally”.
“The effect of the confirmation of charges is that a trial will ensue in the normal course and the accused, if not in custody, will have to make the necessary arrangements to attend that trial,” she charged.
On Monday evening, Ruto’s defence counsel Karim Khan lodged a fresh request to the Appeals Chamber to excuse his client from being physically present in court during his trial. Ruto pointed to the one-week adjournment following the bloody Westgate Shopping Mall (Nairobi) terror attack, arguing such breaks would result in delays in proceedings or interruptions of witness testimony.


But in her response on Thursday, Bensouda insisted Khan’s new argument including the tragic events at Westgate that led to the adjournment Monday do not change the reasoning of the Appeals Chamber’s decision.
Continuous presence
“The new facts raised have no bearing on the Appeals Chamber’s reasons for granting suspensive effect. If the trial continues without Ruto and the appeal succeeds, the results will be difficult to correct and the consequences may be irreversible. Therefore, the request should be rejected,” the Chief Prosecutor said.
For the first time this week, President Uhuru Kenyatta also requested Trial Chamber V(b) to excuse him from continuous presence at trial, citing his new roles as president.
Bensouda is yet to react to the application by the President.The ruling by the five-judge Bench and headed by the ICC  president Judge Sang-Hyun Song is expected soon.

About 13,000 soldiers from seven countries (Thailand, United States, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia) participated in Cobra Gold 2013, a joint, multi-national military training exercise which focuses on maintaining and improving military-to-military relationships among nations. And the training has been hosted annually by Thailand since 1982. During this year’s training, Thai soldiers got to show the U.S. Marines how to catch a cobra with their bare hands, as well as drink the snake blood to survive. Pictures continue

The judiciary is at crossroads in the wake of leaked emails revealing an institution caught in serious infighting with forces uniting for and against a common course. One faction led by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga is portrayed in the hacked emails as launching an onslaught against the Chief Registrar of the judiciary Gladys Shollei. The registrar has now issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the chief justice to institute a public inquiry over allegations against her as the chife justice says the registrar could be prosecuted over the hacked emails scandal. Ken Mijungu reports that the judiciary is headed for self destruction.

Frogs Spérm makes woman pregnant

The neck-less baby with its head almost totally sunk into the upper part of the body and with extraordinarily large eyeballs literally popping out of the eye-sockets, was born to Nir Bahadur Karki and Suntali Karki at the Gaurishnkar Hospital in Charikot.

Experts looking into this case concluded that the mother came into contact with spérms of a frog while bathing in a river. And coincidentally that was the exact time she was ovuláting.

The bizarre baby, however, died after half an hour of its birth, Suntali, the mother, informed. It was taken to the hospital after its death.
The news about such a baby being brought to the hospital spread like wildfire and there were hundreds gathered at the hospital to have a look. The police had to be deployed to control the crowd.

"We wouldn't have been able to save it, even if it had been brought here alive," said a nurse attending to the mother at the hospital, "This is an extremely abnormal case."

The "baby" weighed 2kg at birth and was born after the normal nine-month gestation period.

Suntali, already a mother of two normal daughters, was not suffering from any illness during the pregnancy.

Nir Bahadur, the father, says he does not feel any remorse for the newly-born baby's death. "I am happy that nothing happened to my wife," he said.

The gorverment should focus on this indicipline on the parks than following the fomer prime minister isues if this can happen in a broad daylight i think this is why the terrorist also come in a broad daylight since they understand the goverment is always practicing this watch? they are busy gurding the lovers who will gurd the terrorist???????????

Westgate siege: who is telling the truth?????????????????????????

My plain reading of article 2 (4) of the constitution tells me that any law that is inconsistent or in contravention of this constitution is invalid.
The terrorism act which was recently signed into law with its provision for detaining arrested persons beyond the 24 hrs before arraingment in court is in my humble opinion clearly in contravention of article 49(1) (f) of the constitution.

This is strictly a legal question & is about fidelity to the law & has nothing to do with empathising with terror suspects. Any terrorist, in my view, should just rot in hell. The govt had repeatedly stated that it's holding & interrogating 11 but yesterday stepped the number down to 8 terror suspects beyond the 24 hrs the law provides for before taking them to court. Rights of an arrested person, irrespective of reasons of arrest, are sacrosaunt, basic & fundamental, remember

How Wole Soyinka escaped the westgate attack

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has said that the late Ghanaian diplomat and poet, Kofi Awoonor and himself could have been together at the Storymoja/Hay Literature Festival held in Nairobi, Kenya.
He said he was invited to the same festival but could not attend.Awoonor was killed by terrorists last Saturday at the Westgate Shopping Mall shooting in Nairobi.Soyinka said two commitments: a public conversation with a very brave individual, Karima Bennoune, an Algerian national, whose trenchant publication – Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here, and the annual conference of international investigators in Tunis, were responsible for his inability to attend the festival.
He said: “My absence was particularly regrettable, because I had planned to make up for my failure to turn up for the immediate prior edition. Participant or absentee however, this is one edition we shall not soon forget. It was at least two days after the listing of Kofi Awoonor among the victims that I even recollected the fact that the Festival was ongoing at that very time.
Soyinka spoke in Lagos yesterday during a memorial reading session tagged Humanity and Against and held in honour of the late Ghanaian poet.
He described the late Awoonor as a passionate African who gave primacy of place to values derived from his Ewe heritage. “That, in turn, means that he was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of ecumenism towards other systems of belief and cultural usages – this being the scriptural ethos that permeates belief practices of most of this continent. We mourn our colleague and brother, but first, we denounce his killers, the virulent sub-species of humanity who bathe their hands in innocent blood,” he added.
Renowned poet, Prof JP Clark explained why Soyinka and himself were not at the funeral of the late Chinua Achebe at Ogidi, Anambra State, blaming it on politicians that hijacked the funeral. He noted that Prof Soyinka and himself did not sit and plot action on whether or not to attend Achebe’s funeral in Ogidi.
Clark said critics might be wondering why a memorial is being held in honour of Awoonor in Lagos unlike when Chinua Achebe died.
President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Prof Remi Raji, who read from his collection of poems, The Fire Next Time, said of the late Ghanaian poet: “African literature has indeed lost an influential voice. The name, Kofi Awoonor, was very present in our minds as young students. Though I never met him in person, his writings have been influential. The ANA has sent a condolence letter to the Ghana authority. Today’s memorial is very instructive. His death is a reflection of the urban barbarisms in the globe today.”
Other scholars who read excerpts at the memorial were Prof Kole Omotoso, Prof Femi Osofisan, Dr. Wale Okediran and Lola Shoneyin.

Blame game over Westgate attack

Rivalry among security agencies and lack of clear command lines badly affected the response to the terrorist

attack on the Westgate Mall, the Nation has established.

Jurisdictional differences appear to have extended to blame games among security agencies, as Kenya recovers from its worst terror attack since the 1998 bombing of the Embassy of the United States of America in Nairobi.

Various units of the Kenya Police and the Kenya Defence Forces played key roles in the rescue operation after a band of terrorists linked to Somalia-based Al-Shabaab attacked the shopping mall on Saturday and killed dozens before holding an unknown number hostage inside the up-market complex.

Inquiries by the Nation indicate that a coordinated rescue mission was badly delayed because of disputes between the Kenya Police and KDF officers commanding their units on the ground.

A reconstruction of the rescue mission indicates that a team from the Recce General Service Unit of the Kenya Police early in the rescue operation made its way into the mall and secured most of it, pinning down the terrorists at one end around Nakumatt Supermarket and Barclays Bank.

Rooftop parking

However, the team pulled out after its commander was fatally shot in ‘friendly fire’ following the arrival of a KDF unit.

Also pulling out at the same time was a small group of policemen from various units and armed civilians, who were the first to enter the mall from the rooftop parking and the front entrance and led hundreds of shoppers to safety.

The pullout left a vacuum that apparently allowed the terrorists to regroup and move through the mall slaughtering many captives.

It also allowed the terrorists to deploy heavy-calibre machine guns that they had not used in the earlier shootout.

It took prolonged consultations that also involved State House before President Kenyatta publicly announced that Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo was in charge.

However, it was also decided that KDF Special Forces would be the ones to conduct the actual assault on the terrorists, while the GSU and other police units ringed the mall.

The soldiers and their commanders on the ground only answered to KDF chief General Julius Karangi rather than to the police boss, which also complicated the operation.
The teams also appeared to have had different aims. One officer involved said that some units had a priority to locate and rescue a specific group of VIPs.

Barely an hour after the attack, the GSU squad had taken control of almost 70 per cent of the building after moving in to reinforce the small group of policemen, who were the first to enter the building.

The KDF Special Forces came in later to spearhead the operation, with the GSU forming the second inner cordon in the mall behind the army units from the 20 Para Battalion and Maroon Commandos.

The rivalry is understood to have extended to communication on how the public would be informed of the progress of the operation.

As Parliament promised to demand answers from all units involved, it also emerged on Wednesday that the police had been given advance intelligence on the planned terrorist attack, but failed to act.

The Parliamentary Defence Committee Thursday summoned all security chiefs — including National Intelligence Service boss Michael Gichangi—to appear before it next week. The sessions are expected to be dominated by buck-passing.

“The time for responsibility and accountability has come,” Defence Committee chairman Ndung’u Gethenji said.

Likely targets

A local newspaper Thursday quoted an intelligence source claiming Maj-Gen Gichangi had passed information to Mr Kimaiyo and CID director Ndegwa Muhoro on the impending attack on Westgate.

Speaking to the Nation Thursday, however, a highly-placed source within the police denied that such information was ever passed on.

He said all the communication logs and situation reports had been cross-checked in the wake of the attack and confirmed that no such report was ever made.

What was on record in the recent past, he insisted, were the regular alerts on terrorist plots and likely targets such as government buildings, city landmarks and high-rise buildings, tourist hotels, up-market shopping malls frequented by diplomats and expatriates, and western embassies.

From the debate in Parliament in the wake of the attack, it also appears some MPs have already decided who to blame for the security lapse.

Meanwhile, intelligence officers are pursuing leads indicating that a terrorist who is already serving a 59-year jail term was in contact from behind prison walls with the group that planned and carried out the Westgate attack.

Abdimajid Yassin Mohammed was last year jailed after pleading guilty to the charges of terrorism. It is believed that some warders at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison allowed him to communicate with the conspirators outside.

Suicide mission
Mr Mohammed, 26, and a colleague reportedly bought a Peugeot 505 car for Sh180,000 and did not bother to ask for the log book.
They had planned to use it for a suicide mission on Parliament, but the car broke down on September 13 as they set out on their operation.
They were arrested with four suicide bomb belts, 12 hand grenades, four AK 47 rifles, 481 bullets and two home-made bombs. They led police to a flat in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area where some of the arsenal was recovered.

They also confessed that they were sent to Kenya by Jafra Hussein, an Al-Shabaab commander in Mogadishu.

Beautiful girls and fake doctors feign sickness after a night out with prominent men to rob them

The rise of beautiful con women among the city’s upscale joints has reached an all time high.
 In the past year many prominent government officials, lawyers and businessmen have been lured into sex while others into hospitals parting with millions of shillings.
 A few months ago, a top government official had to part with a million to avoid embarrassment as the girl he was drinking with took his photos in compromising situation.
Mid last month, businessman Charles Kimani met Laura Webuye at a business cocktail party. Even though he is married, they exchanged contacts and two days later, they met in a upscale hotel in Hurlingham for drinks.
 “The evening went on well. She was laughing at my jokes and around 9:00pm her female friend joined us,” explains Kimani who did not know he was being trapped.
“After two glasses Laura stopped drinking citing a medical condition. I urged her to take one last glass for the road,” adds Kimani.
Laura obliged and ordered for two more glasses. “Suddenly she fell onto the table and started getting a seizure. Laura was shaking uncontrollably and foaming in the mouth. Her friend told me that she was suffering from an epileptic fit that they could lead to respiratory failure. Together with help from the hotel waiters, Kimani took her to a city hospital,” he explains.
Shocked by the turn of events Kimani offered any assistance he could to save Laura’s life.
“By that time her friend was hysterical claiming that Laura wasn’t even breathing. I was told to wait at the lobby as they took her in to see the doctors,” adds Kimani.
After few minutes a doctor emerged accompanying Laura’s friend and pulled him out in the parking. The doctor told him Laura was being resuscitated.
“The doctor pulled me aside and named some strange medical terms, saying Laura needed to be in the hospital for at least two days. I was drunk and I could barely understand what he was saying. Laura’s friend was in tears, holding me while crying and I was worried. He asked me to pay Sh73,000 cash. He said it would be cheaper than doing it officially through the hospital billing system,” says Kimani.
Kimani recalls how at that moment Laura’s friend immediately went into her purse and gave the doctor crisp Sh7,000 notes. She claimed that’s all she had and she asked Kimani to top up adding that Laura could pay him back when she gets out of danger.
“Feeling guilty for asking her to drink more and worse so being tipsy I withdrew Sh20,000 from an ATM and went into my pocket and added Sh38,000. The doctor was not happy with Sh58,000 and wouldn’t even allow me to see Laura. All this time, Laura’s pal was still crying and I dropped her at Nakumatt Prestige. We agreed to meet tomorrow in the morning to go see Laura,” narrates Kimani.

The next morning, Kimani, sober, tried calling Laura’s friend but her number wasn’t going through. He then went to the hospital and inquired about a patient who had been admitted the previous night. “I was told that there was no patient with the description I gave at the hospital. I then asked for Doctor Martin who had treated Laura but when doctor Martin came, it wasn’t the same guy I met yesterday”
It then dawned on Kimani that he had been set up all along. Pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. Laura had given him her business card. He practically knew nothing about her, part from that she owned a salon business.
“I wondered why Laura’s friend had asked me to drop her at a deserted Prestige late in the night.  I had even given her Sh2000 for cab but she didn’t tell me where she lived exactly. I think one hospital worker pretended to be a doctor, and I can now understand why Laura had a seizure deep in the night when the hospital was quiet.”
Kimani lost Sh60,000 to Laura.  “It feels stupid going to the cop with such a story. I can’t even remember much because I was drunk, but one thing is for sure, I fell into a con woman’s trap,” admits Kimani who has accepted and moved on.
Just like Kimani, a commissioner had to part with Sh2 million after girls entrapped him and took his pictures in a compromising situation. The high-flying advocate had been drinking in an exclusive Kilimani bar where he invited one of the girls. The young woman came with her friend who was even more beautiful and as drinks flowed, levels of lust also rose. The two girls agreed to share the lawyer for the night and the drunk man oblivious of their scheme, fell for their plan.
The next day, he parted with Sh2 million so the pictures and videos would not be shown in public to embarrass him. The man also has political ambitions and so did not report the matter to the police.
Another lawyer who is also leading a commission parted with Sh1million after a girl he was drinking with took their pictures in a compromising situation. The incident also took place at an affluent Kilimani club.
 And even government officials are not immune from the girls as one of them found out. After drinking one too many with a nubile beauty, the law professor had to part with a million shillings after the girl threatened to reveal their pictures in a compromising situation.

The picture above was posted online by Linda Laina Nyatoro, a South African reporter who witnessed the incident. According to her, the giant snake swallowed a woman two days ago, near Durban North, South Africa. Damn! this is scary!

In Westgate, Al-Shabaab fought the wrong war, suffered the right defeat

Al-Shabaab terrorists who attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, which claimed the lives of 68 people, and injured 175, were defeated.

After more bodies are retrieved from the collapsed floors of the mall, the casualty figures will rise.

The real defeat the terrorists suffered was not during the shoot-out with security forces. It happened further away in the other suburbs and the rest of Kenya. But ultimately, in the minds of the nation.

While people have to deal with the death of their loved ones and the destruction of livelihoods, for terrorists, the human kill is only a means to a bigger end.

They seek, as President Kenyatta and several commentators observed, to destroy the way of life of nations and peoples, and the things they hold dear. And in the process, to weaken them for the real battles that lie ahead.

For example, the September 11, 2011 attacks upon the US in New York and the Washington DC area killed nearly 3,000, including 19 terrorists.

In retaliation, the US attacked Afghanistan where the Al-Qaeda leadership was hiding out. America’s invasion of Iraq was driven by the fear that dictator Saddam Hussein would provide its enemies weapons of mass destruction that he allegedly had in his stores and the US would thus one day be finished off. Of course, it turned out Saddam didn’t have any such weapons.

However, since late 2001 this America “war on terror” had cost the lives of 5,281 servicemen and women as of April this year. And the number wounded as of last month was a staggering 671,846.

A recent study projected the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost the US as high as $6 trillion (Sh522 trillion –357 times bigger than Kenya’s 2013 budget). In addition, America passed several draconian laws allowing the government to spy on private citizen’s communication, and to deny terrorist suspects trial in civilian courts.

US security agencies took to torturing suspected terrorists, tightened immigration, and introduced unreasonable airport searches.

Thousands of students could no longer get into America. Many ended up in Canada, whose universities now have an edge over America’s in scientific research.

Several scholars have attributed a large part of America’s current decline to “imperial overstretch”, and blowing away money it could have used to grow its economy on wars it can’t win. Therefore Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab’s godfather, could be said to have won its war against America.

Kenya’s case has been interesting. After the simultaneous 1998 bomb attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam — again the handiwork of Al-Qaeda — Tanzania and Uganda rushed through very stringent anti-terrorism laws.

Despite subsequent attacks on the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, it took Kenya nearly another 10 years before it passed its anti-terrorism law, which is kindergarten stuff compared to Tanzania’s and Uganda’s.

Intriguing if you consider that Kenya suffered the most. There were about 212 people killed, and 4,000 wounded in Nairobi, compared to 11 killed in Dar es Salaam and 85 wounded.

Likewise, the Westgate Mall attack didn’t spark a wave of paranoia or anti-Muslim hysteria as it did in the US. It did the opposite — gave a nation still divided by the March elections, neighbourhoods tormented by criminals, consumers buffeted by high prices, and workers stuck in bleak lives because of low wages, a higher cause to rally around. Political leaders who had been at each other’s necks, closed ranks.

Because Al-Shabaab is domiciled in Somalia, and the terrorists at Westgate sought to slaughter only non-Muslims (although in the end they killed several Muslims too), there was always the danger that there would be a backlash against Somalis and Muslims.

Yet, in the Somali-dominated Eastleigh suburb, Somalis turned out in record numbers to donate blood to victims. And even more dramatically, in the teeming Dadaab refugee camps, they lined up in their thousands. Ordinarily, you would not expect a long blood donation queue in an African refugee camp.

The attacks did three things. They gave Kenya something it sorely needed — a greater and uniting national purpose. After a very long time, it inspired the people to embrace the motherland.

And it brought out the compassionate side of the nation. I bet none of those were

THE National Intelligence Service gave advance warning of the Westgate attack, according to some security officers. Gen Michael Gichangi, NIS Director General, is due to meet MPs of the Defense and Foreign Relations committee this morning. Gichangi apparently would prefer to testify in public but Defense committee chairman Ndungu Gethenji (Tetu) has indicated that the meeting will be closed to the media. Two NIS officers who did not want their identities revealed yesterday told the Star that their organisation had given advance warning of the attack to Inspector General of Police Service David Kimaiyo and Criminal Investigations Department director Ndegwa Muhoro. They sensationally claimed that Kimaiyo and Muhoro should be investigated for failing to act on intelligence briefs given to them. They also claimed that some senior officers within the Office of the President should be investigated for “suppressing” intelligence reports. They said NIS was not to blame for the Westgate attack that has claimed over 100 lives. It has also emerged that a policewoman has recorded a statement after her brother who works for the NIS warned her not to visit Westgate on Saturday because of an impending attack. The NIS officer is being sought for interrogation. The pregnant policewoman regularly went window shopping in Westgate on Saturdays. "She has told police that her brother who is a NIS officer warned her not to visit Westgate that Saturday because she would not be able to run with her bulging tummy," a senior officer involved in the investigation said yesterday. -The policewoman was picked up from her home on Tuesday night and taken to CID headquarters on Kiambu road where she was interrogated for four hours before being allowed to go home. The NIS officers told the Star yesterday that NIS Director General Michael Gichangi was willing to testify in the open in today’s meeting with the Defense committee of the National Assembly. “I can assure you that the director general is willing to restore the image of the intelligence service because of the negative publicity it has received due to the Westgate attack and the many previous security lapses in the country,” said one NIS officer. “We understand that the director general will be appearing before the committee tomorrow (Thursday) and it is his desire that the meeting is open to the media so that the public can get to know who failed in the line of duty. He wants to clean our name and set the record straight,” the officer said. The two officers said the NIS had also warned the police about the danger before the Baragoi massacre but the police ignored the intelligence reports. However Defense committee chairman Ndungu Gethenji (Tetu) has insisted that the meeting will be closed to the public and the media. “No, it is not open due to the ongoing security operations,” said Gethenji in a short text reply. However Kimini MP Chris Wamalwa, a member of the Defense committee, said that the meeting should be open because there was nothing to hide. Members can vote to overturn the chairman’s unilateral decision, Wamalwa told the Star on Wednesday before he left the country for official duty. “It is wrong for the chairman to imply that his unilateral decision may be taken to mean the collective resolution of the members. We will be proposing to discuss the conduct of the chairman and these are some of the issues,” said Wamalwa. Typically, the committee’s meetings are held behind closed doors except for the vetting of principal secretaries. Last week the committee met Defense Cabinet Secretary Raychalle Omamo in private to hear a report on Kenya’s border security with Somalia. Yesterday MPs questioned the competence of the NIS and called for its total overhaul and commended the police for their rescue work at Westgate. They argued that the huge allocations to the NIS were not commensurate with its output. “The country must get to the root cause of the matter. It was a horrendous act that calls for the dismantling of the gang. It can only be defeated by an efficient intelligence system in place,” said Asman Kamama, chairman of the House committee on Administration and National Security during an adjournment motion on the Westgate attack. Meanwhile Israeli, German and American investigators are assisting their Kenyan counterparts in a forensic audit of Westgate on the fifth day after the attacks. "We strongly believe that there is an insignificant number of bodies still remaining in the building. We are conducting forensic investigations which is an elaborate process that includes fingerprinting bodies, DNA process and ballistic examination. We expect the process to take not less than seven days," Internal Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said yesterday. He was accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces General Julius Karangi and his deputy Lt Gen. Samson Mwathethe, Director of CID Muhoro Ndegwa, NIS boss Gen Michael Gichangi and Cabinet secretaries Amina Mohammed and Raychalle Omamo. The stench of rotting flesh from the collapsed building occasionally reached the nearby Oshwal Centre as the forensic team started going through Westgate looking for booby traps, bodies and explosives. Five military armoured personnel carriers and six military trucks sped out of Westgate at 11am yesterday indicated that the siege had finally come to an end.

THE National Intelligence Service gave advance warning of the Westgate attack, according to some security officers.
Gen Michael Gichangi, NIS Director General, is due to meet MPs of the Defense and Foreign Relations committee this morning.
Gichangi apparently would prefer to testify in public but Defense committee chairman Ndungu Gethenji (Tetu) has indicated that the meeting will be closed to the media.
Two NIS officers who did not want their identities revealed yesterday told the Star that their organisation had given advance warning of the attack to Inspector General of Police Service David Kimaiyo and Criminal Investigations Department director Ndegwa Muhoro.
They sensationally claimed that Kimaiyo and Muhoro should be investigated for failing to act on intelligence briefs given to them.
They also claimed that some senior officers within the Office of the President should be investigated for “suppressing” intelligence reports.
They said NIS was not to blame for the Westgate attack that has claimed over 100 lives.
It has also emerged that a policewoman has recorded a statement after her brother who works for the NIS warned her not to visit Westgate on Saturday because of an impending attack. The NIS officer is being sought for interrogation.
The pregnant policewoman regularly went window shopping in Westgate on Saturdays.
"She has told police that her brother who is a NIS officer warned her not to visit Westgate that Saturday because she would not be able to run with her bulging tummy," a senior officer involved in the investigation said yesterday.
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-137366/nis-gave-advance-westgate-warning#sthash.BpIb8CZH.dpuf

Skip trials at own peril Fatou Bensouda warns Deputy President William Ruto

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has fired a warning salvo to Deputy President William Ruto that he risks arrest if he skips trial proceedings without permission of the judges.
The warning comes just days after the office of the prosecutor suggested somebody else should be sworn in on a temporary basis to discharge Ruto’s duties as deputy head of state.
“The Prosecution notes Ruto is not here ICC voluntarily, but on compulsion of summons and risks arrest if he defaults,” Bensouda warned as she opposed Ruto’s plea to the Appeals Chamber to lift an order compelling him to be in court.
The Chief Prosecutor maintained Ruto is an accused person before the ICC and while presumed innocent, “cannot expect that life would continue normally”.
“The effect of the confirmation of charges is that a trial will ensue in the normal course and the accused, if not in custody, will have to make the necessary arrangements to attend that trial,” she charged.
On Monday evening, Ruto’s defence counsel Karim Khan lodged a fresh request to the Appeals Chamber to excuse his client from being physically present in court during his trial. Ruto pointed to the one-week adjournment following the bloody Westgate Shopping Mall (Nairobi) terror attack, arguing such breaks would result in delays in proceedings or interruptions of witness testimony.
But in her response on Thursday, Bensouda insisted Khan’s new argument including the tragic events at Westgate that led to the adjournment Monday do not change the reasoning of the Appeals Chamber’s decision.

Continuous presence
“The new facts raised have no bearing on the Appeals Chamber’s reasons for granting suspensive effect. If the trial continues without Ruto and the appeal succeeds, the results will be difficult to correct and the consequences may be irreversible. Therefore, the request should be rejected,” the Chief Prosecutor said.
For the first time this week, President Uhuru Kenyatta also requested Trial Chamber V(b) to excuse him from continuous presence at trial, citing his new roles as president.
Bensouda is yet to react to the application by the President.
The ruling by the five-judge Bench and headed by the ICC president Judge Sang-Hyun Song is expected soon.

world apart

ONLY ONE NAME KIMAIYO IS FROM OUTSIDE THE PRESIDENT PROVINCE WOW

Today, the president meets the national security council comprising Githu Muigai, Mutea Iringo, Thuita Mwangi, Ndegwa Muhoro, Micheal Gichangi and David Kimaiyo. We are one and united.

This is yet another telling story how the Westgate Mall massacre was staged as an escape strategy to avoid ICC trials. This guy confirms in this interview that he is not a police officer; he has never been trained in security operations and yet he was the most visible operative in the so-called rescue operation. Kenyans are we this stupid to believe such non sense? Where were the police all this time! How can a civilian be so daring as demonstrated in this video? Kenyans and the world need to hear more from this man! Be the Judge

Informants warned of the looming Westgate attack (+playlist)

It is indeed shocking, The late Radio presenter lying mercilessly on the ground after she was shot by the Alshabaabs. She was 7 months pregnant by the time of the incident.

CAN JUBILEE TELL US WHERE THESE MISSING PERSONS ARE? DOES IT MEAN THERE WERE NO HOSTAGES AND THE GOVT WAS INTENTIONALLY LYING TO KENYANS?

NAIROBI; KENYA: Forensic investigators sifted through the rubble at the Westgate Mall as questions lingered about the fate of dozens reported missing at the end of the deadly four-day siege.
Authorities had indicated the terrorists had hostages inside the upscale shopping complex during the standoff, but authorities, curiously, appeared to avoid the matter or give inconclusive responses after prodding.
President Kenyatta on Tuesday night said three floors of the building had collapsed and “there were several bodies still trapped in the rubble including some terrorists.”
On Wednesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said although some bodies could still be trapped in the rubble, the number of the dead “is not expected to increase significantly.”
Officially, 67 people — 61 civilians and six security agents —  were killed during the attack after gunmen struck the shopping complex on Saturday morning firing indiscriminately at shoppers and staff.
But the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) reported a death toll of 69, and added 63 were recorded as missing.

The Government has blamed the inconsistency on a possible “double count” by aid workers. However, the last update given by KRCS yesterday afternoon points out that “the number of persons reported to KRCS as missing has risen to 71.”
Other than being involved in forensics, according to the Times of Israel, the role of Israelis in the Westgate Mall situation has not been clear.
On Monday, Israeli defence officials confirmed a team was dispatched to Nairobi within hours of the hostage crisis, but said that armed fighting units were not part of the delegation.
 On Wednesday morning, soldiers from Langata’s Maroon Commandos were among the last combat units to leave the mall after the final assault early Tuesday.
Other teams that took part in the operation were the Kenya Defence Forces’ 75 Artillery, 20 Para, 30 Special Forces and 40 Rangers Strike Force unit.
“We left behind a team of Israeli experts who came with small dogs with big ears to start carrying out forensic (investigation),” said a soldier involved in the final operation.
The terrorists are said to have stuffed most of the bodies in specific rooms that were close to the source of the fire and where part of the building caved in.
“It might take several days to retrieve some of the bodies that might have been trapped in the debris,” said another soldier.

Meet the Artist Who Paints With His Pénís

Since then Tim Patch has really became a master of such an unconventional painting technique.

It's really symbolic that Prickasso, who uses his child-making órgán, therefore gives birth to new pictures.

Tim Patch admits that he is more interested in drawing women’s portraits. Politicians celebrities and nature have a lower priority in his works.

It’s hard to imagine how these ladies feel, as they see a nakéd man is just several meters away from them…

Inside Al shabaab by John Allan Namu

Kimaiyo announces mini-reshuffle in police force to boost security

NAIROBI, KENYA: Four senior police officers including North Eastern Regional Coordinator (RC) Mr Charlton Mureithi have been moved in a mini reshuffle.
Mureithi has been moved to City Hall in Nairobi to be in charge of the newly created Security and Compliance section. He will be replaced by Mr Henry Barmao from police headquarters.
The new Eastern RC is Mr Yaa Baya, formerly the chief licencing officer. Baya will replace Mr Mercus Ochola who has been moved to Kiganjo police college and named the deputy commandant.
The changes were announced by Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo as part of efforts to bolster security in the affected areas.
Most parts of North Eastern had been experiencing insecurity and terror related incidents in the past months which claimed more than 100 lives and injured tens others.
But since April, there has been improved security in the area until Wednesday night when gunmen killed a man in a grenade attack in Wajir Town.
A member of the gang identified as Ayub Omar Gullet, was arrested by police after he was shot on the stomach by his colleagues.
He is being interrogated. Another gang raided a police post in Mandera on Thursday  and killed two officers before torching 11 vehicles in rage.
They also bombed the local DO's office before they escaped with the officers’ guns.

UHURU KENYATTA SHOULDN’T EXPECT SPECIAL TREATMENT FROM THE ICC

President Uhuru Kenyatta may have probably thought that a presidential win would mean special privilege by the ICC. Unfortunately for him, the world doesn’t revolve around his needs.
President Uhuru’s arrogance during the campaign period was telling. His attitude towards the west and the pending ICC cases showed he was self absorbed and only thought of himself. His presidential win also confirmed to Kenyans that in Uhuru’s world it is all about him Maybe this is why his cabinet is only composed of his tribesmen
Mr. Kenyatta, humility comes a long way and at the ICC, you are a suspect not a VIP. Failure to show up for your case will mean a warrant which could have serious consequences for Kenya. Let go of your selfish attitude and face the ICC as you promised you would.

Security organs knew of attack in advance, claims Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko

NAIROBI; KENYA : Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko sensationally told the Senate that security organs and intelligence officers were aware of an impending attack on key areas in Nairobi, including the Westgate Mall.
Sonko claimed that he had helped two women of either Asian or Arabic origin to offer information to police on Al-Shabaab militiamen who were targeting sections of Nairobi. He gave the revelations as the Senate took time off its business to discuss the terror attack on the mall.
He said the women had approached him three months ago with information to the effect that the gang, which had rented a house in Parklands and Westlands, were planning a major attack.
“They mentioned Westgate Mall, Village Market, Parliament and the Kenyatta International Conference Centre as their targets,” claimed Sonko.
The Motion was moved by Leader of Majority Kithure Kindiki, who termed the attack a national disaster.
Attacking members of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Sonko told the House that after getting the information from the two women, he assisted them to record their statements with the police and the intelligence officers for further investigations.
Shock many
He said the two women were initially living with the gang in the rented houses but had escaped after being showed the items that the suspects were preparing for the attack.
Though the Senator declined to give the exact details that the two women gave the police, he said that he was ready to record a statement to that effect.
“I know I will shock many people here. These people have remained in this area planning the attack for about three months and despite the investigators getting that information they could not quell the attack,” said Sonko.
The senators faulted the country’s intelligence services even as they hailed the security organs over the manner in which they had handled the attack.
“Instead of the intelligence officers keeping busy tapping our mobile phones, NIS should be employing that vigour towards arresting crime,” said Minority Deputy Whip Janet Ong’era.
Baringo Senator Gideon Moi hailed Kenyans over their strong spirit during the tragedy.

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