BOKISSONTHRONE: Kenya's Westgate attack: Unanswered questions one year on

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Kenya's Westgate attack: Unanswered questions one year on

A year on from the assault by Islamist militants on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenyans still have questions about the four-day siege and its aftermath. Civilians who had been hiding inside during gun battles manage to flee from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, 21 September 2013

Civilians who had been hiding inside during gun battles manage to flee from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya Saturday, 21 September 2013

It was the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the 1998 US embassy bombing by al-Qaeda - leaving 67 people dead and more than 200 wounded.

A man reads a newspaper with portraits of Westgate mall victims on 19 September 2014

The military, police and spy agency have been battling to save face over the handling of the rescue operation still dogging them on the first anniversary.

Here are the five issues that remain unresolved:

Initially, the police and members of the public tried to repel the attack.

As hours went by the government panicked and sent in the military.

Rivalry between the two started when a commander of the police elite squad was killed in friendly fire by the military.

The changeover angered the police and they left in protest as the army took control of the building.

A military commander who was involved in the operation, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said that is when things started to go wrong.

"We entered the mall blindly with no guide, with no concept of anything. Command and control was not there," he said. "The police felt they were undermined. The military thought the police didn't want to give them enough information so everything went wrong."

Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku maintains the operation was handled well.

"I am happy with the way police responded. However, it was necessary for the military to bring protective gear and armoured carriers and their skill. As a country we are happy how they worked together."

Somalia's al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabab, said it had attacked the mall because Kenya has sent troops to Somalia to bolster the UN-backed government.

Kenya's military spokesman named four of the gunmen as Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr.

"I confirm those are the names of the terrorists," Major Emmanuel Chirchir tweeted at the time.

All four were said to have crossed over the border from Somalia before the attack.

It is thought the names given by the military may be noms de guerre as one of the gunmen was subsequently identified as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, a 23-year-old Norwegian citizen of Somali origin.