Anxiety as State gives conflicting reports on siege

Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) arrive on September 22, 2013 at the Westgate mall in Nairobi. AFP 

By Mugambi Mutegi,

In Summary

• Official portrayal of triumph on social media contrasts sharply with sounds of gunfire.

The country was Tuesday mired in uncertainty over the
Westlands mall siege with information by government officials on their social media accounts seeming to conflict with what was going on at the site.

At around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, the official Interior Ministry Twitter account stated that they were “in control of #Westgate”. An hour later, they went on to announce that “our forces are combing the mall floor by floor looking for anyone left behind. We believe all hostages have been released.”

Another tweet explained that all attackers had been “neutralised”, meaning they had been rendered harmless, but not necessarily dead.

The Interior ministry said on Twitter that one more militant had been gunned down, bringing their count to three. This number differed significantly from the government’s earlier estimate of 10-15 militants in the building.

While this was transpiring online, gunshots continued to be heard from the mall, raising questions whether indeed all attackers had been “neutralised” as had earlier been reported. There was gunfire at around 9.30 a.m and more in the afternoon between noon and 1 p.m.

“There are still gunmen in the building,” an intelligence officer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

He added that he was not sure if there were any more hostages. An official government communication failed to come through despite several promises — again done via social media — that one was forthcoming.

“We urge for patience so that the official communiqué will deal with all the issues you have raised,” read periodical tweets by the Interior ministry which began in the wee hours of the morning.

The ministry also said more than 10 suspects had been arrested at the airport and were being questioned in relation to the attack.

Finally, at about 1.45 p.m, official word from the military was emailed to newsrooms, indicating the operation at Westgate Mall was still on and that its delicate nature called for “extreme care and caution.” Gen Julius Karangi, the Chief of Kenya Defence Forces, also confirmed that 11 KDF soldiers had been injured during the operation and that three of them had succumbed to their injuries.