Soldiers sent in to end the Westgate shopping mall siege in Nairobi are being accused by shop owners returning to their units of looting goods worth thousands of pounds.
The business owners are returning to find jewellery, mobile phones and other valuable items have been taken and cash tills have been ransacked. Owners spent Monday removing merchandise and other valuables from their stores and restaurants to prevent any more thefts.
Soon after the attack began on September 21, officials put a cordon around the mall, allowing only security forces and a few government personnel to pass through. One business owner said money and mobile phones were taken from bags and purses left behind in the mayhem. Employees of a book shop on the second floor returned to find cash registers yanked open and cash gone. The store’s laptops were also stolen, although none of the books were touched, said owner Paku Tsavani.
It is the second time in two months that Kenyan security forces have been accused of robbery after an emergency. There were also reports of looting during a huge fire at Nairobi’s main airport in August.
Acknowledging the Westgate thefts, Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku promised: “Those responsible for looting will be prosecuted.”
Meanwhile, Kenyan intelligence officials are to be questioned by the country’s MPs about whether they had advance warning of the attack.
