Court visits Westgate terror attack site

Westgate shopping mall. The trial of the four men facing charges in relation to the terror attack last year moved to the scene Tuesday. Photo/ JEFF ANGOTE  

By VINCENT AGOYA
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The trial of the four suspects charged over the Westgate mall attack Tuesday shifted base to the scene of crime, with witnesses reconstructing how armed terrorists stormed the building.

A security guard, the chief security officer and a police officer who were the first to see the suspected Al-Shabaab militants shoot victims, took the trial court through the site.

The guard said the attackers came through an entrance to Mwanzi Road from Likoni Road.

He showed the trial magistrate the location of a motor vehicle which allegedly dropped the attackers along Mwanzi Road and another car which was also suspected to be involved in the attack.

Witnesses said the attackers appeared to have split into two groups, with one getting into the mall from an entrance where Nakumatt Supermarket was on the ground floor.

Others entered from the main entrance and ramp for motorcars to the top floor parking area where a children’s competition was taking place.

The suspects arrived in a convoy of prison vehicles and were escorted to the 12 marked scenes of the attack.

OBJECTED TO SITE VISIT

Earlier, the defence team had objected to the site visit but the prosecution convinced the trial court that the case would not be prejudiced.

“We want the court to have an impression of the scene...so that when witnesses refer to certain areas informed judgment can be reached,” prosecutor Mr James Warui said.

The defence wanted the visit conducted at the end but after reaching consensus said “their clients were also eager to see the place as they had never been there before.”

“It would be in the interest of the suspects as they also have been eager to see the place,” lawyer Chacha Mwita said.

The trial magistrate questioned the witnesses as they gave the details of the events of the fateful day.

Mr Ali Miraj recounted how he hid behind a pillar as he engaged the terrorists in a shoot-out before running out of bullets.

He showed the court a burnt out Safaricom shop where he and his colleague had gone to collect case for transit moments before the terrorists struck.

“I signaled them as one appeared on the escalator but they started shooting at me...I returned fire and injured one of them on the leg,” the witness said.

The witnesses showed the court several holes on the ground created by grenades that the terrorists hurled.

The visit was concluded at the site of an open trench where security guards took cover for over half an hour before rescue teams called them out.

The team was also taken to the collapsed floor area where workers were collecting debris.

Mr Ahmed Mohammed, Mr Liban Omar, Mr Adan Dheq and Mr Hussein Mustafa have denied charges linking them to the mall attack that claimed 67 lives.

The prosecution says they directly or indirectly participated in carrying out the deadly attack by supporting the terrorists.

Hearing resumes on January 27.