Monday, December 16, 2013

Westgate Attackers Were Never Killed, New York Police Say



Good People,
Police in New York have contradicted Kenyan authorities over the fate of attackers in the West gate attack.
After a two-day siege and a series of explosions, Kenyan authorities said they had cleared the mall and killed four attackers. The report acknowledged that the security officers looted the mall during the siege, and that there was poor communication between the various security branches during the siege.
It was misleading when TV recording captured the Kenyan military high handedly looted the high-end shopping complex and collapsed it. The report say that the female British jihadi known as the "White Widow" was probably never in the mall despite the inflated rumors. The NYPD report also said the attackers carried only light weapons, and that there is no evidence any of them tried to take hostages or remained in the mall after 12:15am on September 22.
The report did not provide the Government with time frame and logistics for the urgency of the investigation but demanded that the Government to fully investigate the lapses among the security agencies.
There are fears that cover-up is in the offing which is why, the police force general laxity was and still is unresponsive among the police who failed to respond to earlier threats which is why more terror is an ongoing activity compromising national security of the people of Kenya and the world since terror groups have been proved to be sponsored groups through NGOs, Foundations and the International Corporate special business interest eyeing Kenya and the whole of Africa in the scramble to Africa Land Grab.
For this reason, knowing the complexity and dangers this poses to the livelihood and survival of Kenyans and having experienced first-hand killings, pain and suffering with disintegrating of security, corruption, impunity, graft, mismanagements and the misuse of public finances, wealth and resources in a conspiracy of the politically correct network, it is clear that the people of Kenya must stand up to protect their interest and save a serious situation of a rot that is eating away the good governance with the just rule of law to conflict with the Reform Accord of the New Constitution that was recently established after Kenya was at war killing each other in 2007/8 where, conspicuously in a clandestine and in assassination style through extra-judicial killings, people were crudely massacred and election was stolen from Kenyan people voters.
Knowingly, it is clear that Uhuru Government misled and continue to mislead Kenyans. The practice discrimination, nepotism and adhoc tribalism influence in Uhuru Government Administration employment is an indication that President Uhuru is after creating animosity planting hate and division in his rulership and this is unacceptable. He is putting Kenya in a disadvantaged position with the world on this very serious matter of organized terrorism and where it reported that, Westgate terrorist were killed but in reality were just a handful of inexperienced youthful looking lads, and also that the police did not loot and collapse the Westgate, whereas the police masterminded excessive organized looting of high scale and collapsed Westgate taking their wonderful time in their time to do greater damage and fooled the world…….. it is why the truth must be told and Uhuru must be pressurized in circumstances to explain thus:
1. People must demand from Uhuru/Ruto Government leadership why Kimaiyo and Karangi are both still in the Public Office earning taxpayer money where security is not guaranteed and peoples lives live in fear and insecurity continue to destroy and threaten lives ?
2. Why the Government of Kenya misled the world about Westgate and that he must explain in details what happened to the Westgate commission?
3. Why the Police Overhaul has not taken urgent effect as was demanded by the Reform Accord package for Change of the New Constitution ....... these are confirmation that the 2007/8 things fall apart and killings in Kenya was organized and buying time for the same is to make their strategy plan succeed, which is why pockets of terrorism and bombing attacks in Kenya is in the offing in Kenya.
4. Why Police looting at Wastegate did not give exclusive lead to why the Senior police Commander was killed, when it is believe there were only four terrorist shooters
5. That the son of former Police boss in Kenya who claimed to have his brother inside the Westgate, but simply went inside Wastegate with a short gun to save people, was a DECOY, and needed to be investigated further for connection of the terror attack
6. That the organized insecurity in the Country is part and parcel of the Police force why things are getting from bad to worse
7. That those suspects in Kibaki/Raila Government Administration have infiltrated the Uhuru/Ruto Government Administration and it has become business as usual
8. What happened to the promised commission that was going to look into security lapses? Have all the victims been accounted for? Were the bodies of the attackers identified among the dead?
9. Why is there continued potential security lapses in Kenya that soon will affect neighbouring countries?
10. There was serious security lapses that enabled the terrorists to sneak into Kenya; Why was this so…………….Chairman of the parliamentary committee on national security and administration Asman Kamama told Sabahi that among the issues the committee recommended the president to look into were: a) security lapses that enabled the terrorists to sneak into Kenya; b) how the attackers stockpiled weapons at the mall undetected; c) how the security agencies handled the siege; d) and if there were instances of rivalry between the army and police that enabled the terrorists to gain ground inside the mall.
Therefore, to save Kenya from collapse from organized terrorism, mismanagement, corruption, impunity, graft, tribalism, extra-judicial killings, injustices with incompetency of leadership to public service deliver, Kenya need a fresh start and a complete revolutionized overhaul so that any meaning effect for Reform Accord as per Peoples Mandated Constitutional demands to inflict the change for Reform the Peoples Referendum wants can take effect and put Kenya to a well established strategic Plan of Action towards Progressive Development for Social Welfare advancement and economic success.
Kenya and the world does not have the luxury of time to waste with terror groups with incompetent or compromised leaders that are bend towards Africa sell-out. This leadership mentality (of the greedy corporate special business interest), which have hit a snag, their business theories is not working towards the Peace and Unity in harmony the whole world wants. They are enjoying their comfort zones and they don’t want the change where many instead suffer loss of lives, pain and sufferings. This is unacceptable and a Revolution to Re-think safer ways to do business in a conducive acceptable environment where Mutual common interest is taken into consideration for the good of all.
This is the focus and what the people, each and every individual must engage and commit to do. The pressure for Change is now and things must change for better.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
 
===========================
 
 
 
 

Somalia: Westgate Attackers Were Never Killed, New York Police Say

By Nairobi, 11 December 2013
Police in New York have contradicted Kenyan authorities over the fate of attackers in the West gate attack. US newspapers reported that only four men may have carried out the attack on West gate mall that killed more than 60 civilians in September, and they probably escaped alive, according to an NYPD report made public Tuesday.
The report debunked many of the assertions made by Kenyan authorities, who claimed that as many as 15 attackers were involved, including some who might be foreign nationals, and that they were holding hostages.
More than 60 civilians and six soldiers died in the September 21 assault by terrorists from the Al Qaeda-affiliated group Al Shabaab on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. After a two-day siege and a series of explosions, Kenyan authorities said they had cleared the mall and killed four attackers.
At a Manhattan press conference Tuesday morning, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said investigators didn't know "with certainty" how many people were involved, "but we believe there were only four shooters." The NYPD report also said the attackers carried only light weapons, and that there is no evidence any of them tried to take hostages or remained in the mall after 12:15am on September 22.
It also said the female British jihadi known as the "White Widow" was probably never in the mall, despite tabloid rumors, and that the Kenyan military looted the high-end shopping complex.
Lt. Detective Commander Kevin Yorke, who prepared and presented the report, also questioned the Kenyan authorities' theory that the attackers died when explosions collapsed portions of the mall.
"As a cop, I'm very skeptical of claims until I see proof," said Yorke, and added that there is "a lot of doubt in my mind it is true." The NYPD sent several detectives to Nairobi with the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force to investigate the assault, and Yorke assembled their findings into the report.
According to the NYPD's reconstruction of events, the four attackers operated in two-man teams and coordinated their movements by cell phone. After throwing three grenades and entering the mall, they used AK-47 rifles in single-fire mode to shoot their victims.
More than one-third of the dead were attending a children's cooking contest that was being held in tents in the mall's roof parking lot. The attackers killed them within 15 minutes of arriving at the mall.
The report said the attackers had grenades and several hundred bullets in eight magazines, but no body armor, handguns or heavy weapons. They did not try to take hostages, but killed as many victims as they could, sparing some who could recite Muslim prayers or name the Prophet Mohammed's mother.
A Russian hand grenade was found on the roof with the pin removed but unexploded.
 
 
================

Kenya: Police Name Pangani Matatu Blast Suspect

16 December 2013
Police are looking for clues that might lead them to a passenger who alighted from a matatu just before it was blown up on Saturday. Six people were killed in the 5:45pm blast about 100 metres from Pangani police station on Juja Road and near Pangani Girls High School in Nairobi.
Detectives are interrogating the surviving passengers for the description of a passenger who alighted at Chai Road moments before the Improvised Explosive Device blew up the matatu. The driver and conductor of the matatu No 9, which plies the Eastleigh-city centre route, told police that all passengers were picked up at Garissa Lodge stage.
"The matatu driver, his conductor and owner have been interrogated by police and have narrated what happened from the time the matatu left the Garissa Lodge stage until the explosion happened. We now are talking to the injured passengers," said one of the police officers involved in the investigations, but who is not allowed to speak to media. Another passenger boarded the matatu as the other alighted at Chai Road. It is suspected that the man who is being sought left the explosive in the matatu before he detonated it using a mobile phone.
Police have also ruled out earlier suspicions that the explosion was the work of business rivals over control of the route after the matatu crew and owner said there has been no tension between owners. Many people were injured because there were many vehicles at the scene when the explosion took place.
Peter Muigai, who was driving a pick-up over the Pangani-Forest road overpass towards Kariokor, said he took some of the injured to Guru Nanak Hospital.
"As I was driving to the overpass, I heard a loud explosion then minutes later saw rescuers getting the injured out of the matatu and putting them on the road. There were so many damaged vehicles and I decided to help those who were injured. I took seven injured people to Guru Nanak in the first trip and went back for others. This time I took six but when I arrived at the hospital, two had died," he said.
Muigai said the two bodies remained in his pick-up for more than two hours before police finally transferred them to a Pangani police station Land Cruiser and took them to the City Mortuary.
Among those who died at the scene of the blast was a Saloon car driver who was trying to overtake the minibus when the explosion ripped off one side of his vehicle. Three others died while being taken to the hospital.
Nairobi police commander Benson Kibue ordered the scene to be cordoned off for investigations. Kibue urged matatu crew to inspect all passengers boarding Public Service Vehicles.
"Passengers must demand that all getting inside public transport vehicles are inspected. Everyone must be alert especially during this festive season where very many people are using public transport. Let us all compliment what our officers are doing," he said.
Eight people were killed in an attack at the Liboi border a few days before this explosion. While in Wajir town, one person was killed in an explosion at a market on Friday night. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which saw tension rise between the communities in the area.
 
 
==========================
 
 
 
New York Police Department (New York)
The New York Police Department has released an analysis of the terror attacks at the Nairobi's Westgate Mall by Al-Shabaab terrorists back in September.
11 December 2013
Executive Summary of
Overview:
On Saturday, September 21, 2013 at approximately 12:30 hours (local East African Time) four terrorists associated with the Somali based terrorist organization Al-Shabaab launched an armed assault using rifles and hand grenades at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The attack resulted in the deaths of 67 people and it took almost four days before authorities declared the scene safe. This terrorist attack was the largest loss of life in Kenya due to terrorism since the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi in which 212 people were killed.
This high profile armed assault successfully raised Al-Shababb’s worldwide profile as a terrorist organization. It also clearly illustrates that armed assaults by terrorists on “soft” targets such as a shopping mall are a simple, effective and easy to copy tactic.
The victims of this attack included males and females, ranging in age from 78 to eight years old and coming from 13 different countries. The majority of these casualties probably occurred within the first hour of the attack. It also appears that the terrorists made some conscious effort to just target non-Muslims during the attack.
A large number of victims were individuals who either attempted to seek shelter or were trapped while in the mall. This presented the attackers with opportunities to engage in wholesale killing when they discovered groups of victims attempting to hide in confined spaces like storerooms. It also presented first responders with challenges in evacuating and properly identifying the victims.
During the beginning of the attack, a large number of plainclothes law enforcement and civilian armed personnel were present at the scene and actively assisted in evacuating victims. Their presence may have created identification issues for uniformed Kenyan Police first responders.
Poor coordination and lack of effective communication between police and military commanders resulted in the military troops firing on members of the police tactical team, killing one officer and wounding the team commander.
The last confirmed sighting of the terrorists on the mall’s CCTV system takes place on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 00:54 hours, 12 hours after the start of the attack. It is unknown if the terrorists were killed or escaped the mall. A major contributing factor to this uncertainty was the failure to maintain a secure perimeter around the mall.
On Monday afternoon, September 23, 2013, the Kenyan Defense Forces while conducting tactical operations started a fire and collapsed a large part of the mall.
On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 18:00 hours, the Westgate Mall was declared secure and the incident ended almost 78 hours from the start of this attack.
==========================

Kenya: Al-Shabaab Suspect Charged in Connection to Westgate Attacks

5 December 2013
Sabahi (Washington, DC)
A Kenyan court on Tuesday (December 3rd) brought new charges against terror suspect Swaleh Abdi Said, accusing him of being a member of al-Shabaab and one of the planners of the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya's The Star reported.
Said was arrested in Likoni on October 10th, reportedly with two explosives in his possession. At the time of his arrest, police said he intended to carry out a similar attack to Westgate in Mombasa. He returned from Somalia three months ago.
Said was charged with involvement in a series of activities supporting al-Shabaab since January 2011, including recruitment efforts and facilitating transportation of people to Somalia. He denied the charges.
===================

Kenya: Key Questions Remain Unanswered Two Months After Westgate Attack

By Julius Kithure, 3 December 2013
Nairobi — More than two months have passed since al-Shabaab's bloody siege of Westgate mall, and a number of important questions -- ones that Kenyan officials publicly pledged to look into in a timely manner -- remain unanswered.
What happened to the promised commission that was going to look into security lapses? Have all the victims been accounted for? Were the bodies of the attackers identified among the dead?
As the wait for the answers to these and many more questions turn from weeks to months, many are wondering when -- and if -- the Kenyan government plans to provide the answers.
What happened to the Westgate commission?
Days after the end of the siege, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to set up a commission to investigate the Westgate Mall terror attack and any potential security lapses.
Chairman of the parliamentary committee on national security and administration Asman Kamama told Sabahi that among the issues the committee recommended the president to look into were: security lapses that enabled the terrorists to sneak into Kenya; how the attackers stockpiled weapons at the mall undetected; how the security agencies handled the siege; and if there were instances of rivalry between the army and police that enabled the terrorists to gain ground inside the mall.
"You recall there were reports that the Recce elite squad had the situation in the mall under control within hours of the attack until the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) intervened and a rift ensued which enabled the terrorists to regroup in the mall and kill more shoppers," Kamama said. "Kenyans would want to know who called the military and what role did they play and how similar future threats could be handled by multi-security agencies."
But two months later, the president has gone silent on the commission, leading to speculations that he has changed his mind altogether on whether to proceed with the investigation.
"The president appears to have developed cold feet," said Macharia Munene, an international relations and history professor at United States International University in Nairobi. "Probably he does not want to create further rift between the military and police."
Munene told Sabahi the president likely wants to protect the image of both security agencies and not expose their operational shortcomings through a commission of inquiry.
However, commenting on the reason behind the delay, government spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the administration was still planning to establish the commission but would wait for the forensic investigation to be completed.
"When that is completed, then the president will be able to look at the commission and determine parameters he wants investigated. But setting up a commission before completion of forensic investigations I think would not be a prudent idea and the president believes that," he said at a press conference November 22nd.
Esipisu announced on November 14th that detectives had finsihed their on-site investigations at the mall.
Could only three men have looted Westgate mall?
After initially refuting accusations that officers had looted shops at the mall, the military changed its tune October 29th, announcing it had court-martialed two soldiers, Victor Otieno and Victor Ashiundu, for looting, with a third individual, Isaiah Wanjala, being probed.
But doubts still linger on how three soldiers could be the only culprits in the looting spree at the mall.
"We saw owners of jewellery, watch and mobile shops agitated after they found shops emptied. Standard Chartered Bank reported its ATMs breached and Millionaires Casino lost millions of cash," said Stephen Evans Omondi, director of business development and public relations at the Nairobi-based advertising firm Black & White Media. He added that even restaurants reported alcohol stocks missing.
The widespread looting could not have been orchestrated by only three people, he said.
"The government should not seem to condone impunity. Keeping mum will neither resolve the looting spectacle nor end speculation of mass looting by soldiers," Omondi said.
Have all the missing been accounted for?
Nearly a month after the siege, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) still listed 23 people as missing, and has since not announced a reduction of that number. However, the Kenyan government says all civilians had been accounted for.
"By the time we closed Visa Oshwal Academy, which we had established for Kenyans to report their missing persons to, all people listed as missing were reunited with their families while bodies at the city mortuary were positively identified as those of missing people," said Mutea Iringo, principal secretary of the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of National Government.
"Therefore, we do not have any report of missing persons as a result of Westgate tragedy," he told Sabahi on November 21st.
Forensic experts are still conducting DNA testing on body parts that were not identifiable visually, Iringo said. "What is remaining and to be completed soon is complex analysis and matching of body tissues which experts suspect belonged to dead terrorists," he said.
Where is the forensic evidence on the attackers?
Also pending are the government's definitive answers on the identity of the attackers.
On October 4th, KDF spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir named Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Khane and Omar al Mogadishu, also known as Umayr, as the terrorists who attacked the mall.
Chirchir said the men were identified thanks to the security footage retrieved from the mall.
However, two months later, the government has not yet confirmed it was able to positively identify their bodies among the dead.
"Without some kind of definite form of evidence about the fate of terrorists, the public will remain skeptical and buy the popular theory that they [terrorists] escaped," said Jerry Kitiku, a retired Kenyan army colonel and the executive director of Security Research and Information Centre in Nairobi.
Kitiku wondered why it has taken so long to announce the findings of the forensic experts. "We were waiting for a final briefing with conclusive evidence about their findings, but there is deafening silence on this front," Kitiku said.
===================
Sabahi (Washington, DC)

Kenya: Police, Intelligence Services Criticised for Westgate Failings

6 December 2013
A parliamentary committee has condemned Kenya's police and intelligence services for failing to act on reports received ahead of the Westgate terrorist attack in September and recommended that the government should fully investigate security lapses, Kenya's The Standard reported Thursday (December 5th).
The findings come as calls grow for the government to answer a number of questions still pending about the Westgate attack.
The committee, comprising lawmakers from parliament's Defence and Foreign Relations Committee and Administration and National Security Committee (ANSC), described "a general laxity and unresponsiveness" among the police who failed to respond to earlier threats.
The committee's report, which was tabled in parliament by the ANSC Chairman Asman Kamama, also questioned if intelligence services had provided "accurate, timely and specific" information ahead of the attacks.
The committee called for media content to be regulated when streaming live from emergency situations, in order to "manage... the delivery of information and to make sure it does not compromise national security".
"There is a need to censure irresponsible journalism and reckless social media," the report noted.
While the report says the government should "fully investigate the lapses among the security agencies", it does not say who should conduct the investigations. It also failed to give any deadline, and does not obligate the findings to be presented to parliament.
The report acknowledged that the security officers looted the mall during the siege, and that there was poor communication between the various security branches during the siege.
========================

Kenya: MPs Want to Fire Kimaiyo, Karangi Over Westgate

By David Mwere, 4 December 2013
THE parliamentary committee that investigated the Westgate attack has recommended the sacking of Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo and Kenya Defense Forces chief General Julius Karangi. They also want senior officers who failed in their duties punished.
The four day attack on the Westgate mall began on September 21 and left 67 people dead and another 200 injured. Two floors of the building were brought down in circumstances that are yet to be fully explained.
Yesterday Administration and National Security committee chairman Asman Kamama said the report will be brought to the National Assembly for debate tomorrow. "The report will be tabled in the House on Thursday this week. There is a lot in the report and you will see much of it once it is ready," Kamama said.
He said that the committee has proposed a total overhaul of the Immigration Department and demanded total war on terrorism. Immigration officers who have served for a long time in their posts and who are suspected to collude with criminal elements will either be retired or sacked.
The committee recommends further investigations by the Director of Public Prosecutions and those culpable should be arrested and prosecuted. The report was prepared jointly by the Defense and Foreign Relations committee, chaired by Ndun'gu Gethenji, and the Administration and National Security committee will be presented in the house this week but will only be debated next year because Parliament will go on Christmas recess.
The report accused Kimaiyo and Karangi of "sleeping" on the job but exonerates the Head of the National Intelligence Service General Michael Gichangi. The report explains that the two were warned by the NIS of the attack but failed to act on the intelligence. The final report contradicts the initial clearance of the KDF by Gethenji and Kamama in early October before the MPs finished their investigations.
The two were criticized by their own committee members and yesterday tried unsuccessfully to have the MPs soften their recommendations. The MPs have also recommended that victims of the attacks, including the owners of businesses at Westgate, should be compensated. Business owners complained that KDF soldiers looted their shops after they successfully contained the attackers in the mall.
The KDF has arrested and court martialed three soldiers for theft but Gen Karangi has denied that there was general looting. Yesterday a committee member told the Star that the "radical surgery" will be implemented in phases if the report is approved. The report requires a simple majority in the House for it to pass.
The MP claimed Defense committee chairman Ndungu Gethenji (Tetu) had pushed to have the police and army exempted. "We rejected the proposals to have KDF and the Kenya Police excluded from blame. The information before us also shows that the two security organs got intelligence briefs. The presentations made by the NIS before the committee and in the presence of the two institutions would have made the whole report a mockery of facts," the MP said.
The MPs instead cleared the NIS after its presentations before the committee. The Kenya Police has consistently denied having received intelligence briefs.
"The committee report says that officers who failed to act on the intelligence reports that were done and circulated across the city's police bosses by NIS will be dealt with as per the law and their own standing orders. It is so sad for innocent lives to be lost just because a government officer fails to do what is required," the MP said.
Other recommendations include enactment of the refugee law that will regulate how the government will handle refugees in future and the closing of all refugee camps in the two months following the adoption of the report by the National Assembly.
==========================

Ethiopia: Muslims Held On Terrorism Charges Released

By Tamiru Tsige, 14 December 2013
The Reporter (Addis Ababa)
Twelve Muslim suspects from among 31 charged were released on Thursday December 12, including the wife of the former high-ranking government official Junedin Sado. The accused were detained last year on charges of attempting to establish a religious government, practicing a religion that preaches...
extremism, and breach of religious rights enshrined under the constitution.
The charges were brought against 29 Muslim suspects and two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in September 2012, and the court has been listening to witness testimonies for the last year in closed sessions. The prosecutor requested that the hearings remained closed for the purposes of witness security.
After examining the cases and listening to the testimonies, the court released Hassan Ali Shurab, Sheikh Sultan Haji Aman, Sheikh Jemal Yasin Raju, Sheikh Tahir Abdulkader, Abdulhafiz, Hasan Abi Seied, Ali Meki Bedru, Sheikh Haj Ibrahim Tohifa, Sheikh Abdurahman Ousman Kelil, Habiba Mohamed Mahmud (wife of Junedin Sado) and Dr Kemal Haji Geletu Mame.
The court ordered 18 suspects to defend their cases, and among these 14 were held under Proclamation 652/2009 Article 3 (Terrorist Act), changed to Article 4 (planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement, and attempts of terrorism act). The 14 suspects under this charge are Abubeker Ahemed Mohamed, Ahemedi Jebel Mohamed, Yasin Nuru Asaali, Kamil Shemsu Raraj, Eng. Bedru Husien Nurhusien Sheikh Mekete Muhae Mekonnen, Sabir Yirgu Mandefro, Muhamed Abate Tesema, Ahmed Mustafa Habib, Abubeker Alemu Muhae, Munir Husien Hassen Sheikh Seied Ali Juhar, Mubarek Adem Getu Aliye and Kalid Ibrahim Balcha.
Four suspects Murad Shikur Jemal, Nuru Turkey Nuru, Sheikh Baheru Oumar Shikur and journalist Yesuf Getachew will be seen under article 7 of the proclamation, regarding the participation in a terrorist organization. It was reported that Abubeker Ahemed and others were ordered by the court to defend themselves after being arrested by police last July following weeks of protests against the current Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) leadership, which the Muslim community claims does not represent them, by conducting a series of activities in different locations such as the Awelya and Hamza Mosques.


No comments: