Westgate Mall, the site of the 2013 massacre that left 67 dead and dozens seriously injured will reopen its doors on Saturday following its rebuild.
On September 21, 2013, eight self-declared jihadis from Somali militant group Al-Shabaab stormed the Nairobi shopping complex with guns, launching a siege that lasted four-days until security forces killed them.
“The indomitable Kenyan spirit prevailed, they didn’t break our spirit,” Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero told reporters. Kidero told the Associated Press that every business that had a shop in the mall is back. Subway, KFC and Converse franchises are among those to restart business, according to Reuters.
“As patriotic Kenyan business people, we are confident that Westgate Mall will arise from the ruins to greater heights than it ever was,” Terry Mungai, owner of Ashleys Beauty centre, told Kenya’s Business Daily, adding that her store will now have five times as much space as it did before the attack.
Even so, many Kenyans are questioning whether a memorial should have been built instead of the renovated mall according to some reports.
New security features at Westgate will include explosive detectors, luggage X-rays, scanners to check underneath cars, bollards to prevent car bombs, and bullet-proof guard towers.
Kidero reassured citizens the country was safe, pointing to US President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the country as evidence.
Obama is scheduled to give a speech to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Nairobi, which will start on July 24.
But the US has issued a travel warning for US citizens heading to Kenya – singling out the conference as a reason for heightened risk of terrorist attacks.
The statement noted: “As with all large public events, there is the opportunity for criminal elements to target participants and other visitors. Large-scale public events such as this Summit can also be a target for terrorists.” The alert expires on July 30, after the summit ends.
Al Shabaab has killed more than 400 people on Kenyan soil over the last two years, according to Reuters. In April, gunmen killed 147 people at a university in the town of Garissa and just last week, Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for killing 14 people in the Kenyan village of Mandera.
