Interior Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo on Thursday, September 21 paid tribute to Westgate Mall Terror Attack victims.

While marking 10 years since the attack, PS Omollo said that the unfortunate incident shaped Kenya’s strategy to combat terrorism.

“The aftermath served as a testament to our collective strength and resilience, and taught us invaluable lessons on vigilance, preparedness, emergency response and the importance of never lowering our guard against any threat to our public security and safety,” PS Omollo said.

Enhanced capacity

Kenya, PS Omollo said, had progressively enhanced its capacity to fight terrorism through the recruitment of more security personnel, establishment of elite units, advanced training programs for its officers, and bolstered firepower as envisioned in the Police Equipment Modernization Programme.

“Our end goal is to sustain the highest level of surveillance along our borders and covert/overt security operations across the country and neutralize the enemy before he strikes,” he said. 

He revealed that the approach has yielded the desired results so far, based on the numerous attacks that have been foiled.

PS Omollo’s moving tribute

Here is PS Omollo’s moving tribute as Kenya marked the 10th anniversary of the Westgate Mall attack…

In what was meant to divide us, we found enough reasons to unite.

A decade ago, the festering wound of terrorism spread over our hearts and country, wreaking havoc in what was dubbed, ‘The Siege of Westgate.’

We have heard stories connecting people we know to, ‘The Siege of Westgate’, that is if we didn’t know someone ourselves.

In that moment of threat, we found ourselves able to rally in unified support of the victims and their families. One thing is for sure, we are not done learning from the tragedy.

Today, with the privilege of hindsight, we can reflect on the unfortunate incident. Digging the rubble and ruins. Not for losses, but lessons.

The events surrounding the #Westgate attack provide a cautionary tale about preparedness. Emerging from the horror, we constructed a common narrative to learn, use and never forget the lessons of, ‘The Siege of Westgate.’

Kenyans are now painfully aware of the power a crisis has on society. We need to recognize, fully and completely, our individual and collective roles in preventing and responding to such a fatality in the future.

Nothing, nothing justifies terrorism. And, there is no security priority higher than defeating it. We have, we will!

What happened?

On 21st September 2013, Kenyans were going about their business as usual, oblivious of what was going to befall them.

Out of the blue, four masked gunmen attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, opening fire on everyone.

This would mark the beginning of a four-day siege. The aftermath… at least 67 lives were cut short, and 200 others injured.

Al-Shabaab, a Somali-based insurgent group allied to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility of the attack.

Suspects jailed

Two suspects – Mohamed Ahmed Abdi and Hussein Hassan Mustafa – were on October 30, 2020, found guilty of helping Al-Shabaab execute the attack, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.