Westgate attack a reminder that something is wrong

Last week, Kenya was sprung to the pinnacle of the news menu when suspected al Shabaab terrorists attacked a shopping mall (Westgate) and embarked on a killing spree in a siege that lasted for about four days. Unlike the attack that was made in Kampala in 2010 where over 80 people were killed during the World Cup final, the Westgate one was something we all followed day and night on TV, radio and more importantly on social media. The experience became more horrifying with the flow of shocking images and footage. By the time the last gunshot went silent, we had learnt that a lot of lives and property had been lost. And although Kenyans came together in big numbers to offer blood and money for the victims, questions about the whole event continue to pile up. Terrorism is no longer a new thing; almost every single country has now had a brush with this terrifying war technique used by those who do not have the means to fight their real enemies. They look for something that will leave a psychological blow so deep that no one can afford to forget. Through social media we saw that Twitter verified several Kenyan government accounts so people could get information they could trust. While at the same time they had to keep shutting down accounts being used by al Shabaab. Unfortunately, verifying a twitter account is not the same as verifying the information being tweeted. This is why we ended up with more confusing information about mattresses, hostages, terrorists and so much more. Handling of information remains a big challenge in such cases. This is why we keep hearing that the mall is owned by people whose names are not readily available. One government official even had the guts of saying that the remaining bodies in the mall were ‘insignificant.’Even a layman will tell you that you cannot have a hostage situation being dealt with by different security forces taking orders from different people and also have civilian gun enthusiasts walking into a gun fight with pistols that carry a few rounds. No wonder we are now hearing of reports of ‘friendly fire’.I wrote in these same pages a while back that the way we respond to disaster is one of the biggest problems that we need to address. At Westgate there was no crowd control strategy and police had to fire teargas to keep away people who were ironically eager to run to a place they would normally run away from. Many times we talk about how stupid people show up at accident scenes only to rob the dead and survivors. With Westgate we now know that army and police officers robbed the place clean. This is a place that had a casino, jewellery shops and banks. Of course all this happened before the place was blown up. Although one columnist blogged about how the idea of otherness did not hold since the victims and the rescuers were from all sorts of social and racial lines, it is still weird that the media house he works for released a list of the victims where it mentions only 28 (important) people. The rest who include shop attendants, security staff, cleaners etc, seemed not to matter to the editors of the newspaper. It is such issues that seemed to poke holes into the unity of a nation known for its ethnic division. The slogan “We Are One” was used to rally a nation together. The question is how come other events like Baragoi where 44 policemen were killed or even the post-election violence in 2008 there were no Mpesa lines for donations. We saw the heroes of the day but we never bothered to think about those paid to do what those heroes were doing. Soldiers who were at the scene for days were being fed by volunteers and we did not stop to wonder where they normally get their food from during other operations. No wonder they robbed victims and the shops clean. Security should be a constant concern – not only beefed up after a terrorist attack. Knee-jerk reactions will not keep the threat away. We need professional training and more investment in real intelligence gathering and reaction to ensure that such situations are not repeated. May all those who died rest in peace and may the survivors find the strength to pick up the pieces. www.ssenyonga.wordpress.com @ssojo81