• On September 21, 2013, four jihadi gunmen entered the mall and opened fire on shoppers, killing many terrified shoppers in and outside the mall as they fled.
• Sixty-seven people died while another 200 were wounded after a multiagency security operation brought the ordeal to an end after a tense four-day siege.
Image: DCI/X
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has said the security lapses that allowed al Shabaab terrorists to attack and kill people at the Westgate Mall ten years ago have been sealed, putting to rest the possibility of a repeat of the incident.
On September 21, 2013, four jihadi gunmen entered the mall and opened fire on shoppers, killing many terrified shoppers in and outside the mall as they fled.
Sixty-seven people died while another 200 were wounded after a multiagency security operation brought the ordeal to an end after a tense four-day siege.
Among the dead were 62 civilians, five security officers and the four attackers.
Al-Shabab said it carried out the attack in response to Kenyan military operations in Somalia.
"Based on our response following the attack, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations learnt from its mistakes and has since then put in place mitigating measures to ensure that such an attack does not occur," DCI said on Thursday.
The government said the four militants who carried out the attack were found dead in the building's rubble after an explosion.
Forensic tests on their remains have never been released.
A judge in October 2020 sentenced two men to 18 and 33 years in jail after they were convicted of helping the Islamist militants stage the attack.
A third suspect, a refugee, was acquitted. Witnesses said a day after he was released, gunmen stopped his taxi and abducted him. It was the last he had ever seen.
How it happened
On the fateful day at around midday, militants stormed the high-end mall, throwing grenades and firing indiscriminately at shoppers in a coordinated massacre that detectives later discovered had been planned for months.
Investigations revealed that Islamist militants based in Somalia joined efforts with their contacts at the Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana and in Nairobi to plan the attack.
They took advantage of lax mobile phone SIM card procurement procedures to avoid detection from detectives as they maintained communication with each other.
Investigations later established that eight mobile phone lines directly linked to the attack were registered in Nairobi and switched on days before the attack.
During the attack, police were criticised for poor coordination where rivalry between police and military forces was cited as a factor that hindered timely response.
On the tenth anniversary of the incident, the DCI said it has since adopted multiple strategies to avert a repeat of the attack.
One of the strategies was developing the human resource capacity of its officers to respond to the contemporary security demands of time.
"Consequently, the DCI Anti-Terrorism Police Unit was upgraded and a highly specialised counterterrorism and hostage rescue tactical team - the Emergency Response Team (ERT) established," the DCI said.
"The well-trained and highly motivated team remains on standby 24/7 for any terror-related eventuality."
The DCI said it also set up the anonymous toll-free call centre dubbed #FichuakwaDCI to specifically handle calls related to serious crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking and armed robberies among others.
"The call centre which receives about 50 calls in a day, half of which are actionable, has revolutionised the manner in which we gather verifiable information and respond in time before criminal acts are committed," DCI said.
The department said these strategies coupled with embracing a multi-agency approach in responding to security threats have ensured the safety and security of every citizen has been assured.
"While we remain committed to ensuring that the lives and property of all Kenyans are safeguarded, we continue appealing to the public to be our partners in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism," DCI said.