Man on the Street: Kenyans Voice their Opinions on the Westgate Attack

Dr. Joyce Nyairo-Media, Arts and Cultural Analyst
The Westgate tragedy was harrowing. It was like a horror movie. I was at home when someone called to tell me of the unbelievable events he was watching on TV. I remained rooted to the screen for the rest of that day, got out early on Sunday to donate blood, watched more TV, sent Mpesa and still it wasn’t enough to make me feel like I was doing anything to alleviate the suffering of those who were caught up in the terror, and their relatives.

Westgate taught us a lot about who we are as Kenyans. It seems we are capable of swinging from the uttermost heights of selfless giving, ready to bleed for one another oblivious of race or creed, to the grimmest depths of cruelty. How could some loot as others were wailing and dying? We have so much to draw from Westgate in making Kenya stronger and much that we must dispel to be better human beings.

Christine Muthoni- Web and Graphic Designer
I know a friend who was affected. She lost her sister and according to her account, the sister was shot and died on the spot. The pain of losing someone you love is too much to bear. And the fact that innocent lives were lost makes me angry, at the same time sad. It didn’t have to go that way, for every minute that went by, the death toll rose. I felt like I lost a friend, a brother, a sister or a parent. However, the pain makes me feel patriotic as a Kenyan. Still, I haven’t changed my opinion about Muslims but that on Somalis. Islam is a religion but some Somalis are people our country has offered assistance in picking up their country from anarchy but some of their people, the Al Shabaab, still try to cut the hand that fed them.

The government should follow all the leads and pin down exactly who did this, how, and who they relied upon for money, intelligence, logistics, and how the guns came in. As Kenyans, there’s not much we can do, but hope against hope it doesn’t happen again.

Mohamedamin Ibrahim-Payroll Administrator
As at now, I don’t know anyone who was affected by the tragedy but it makes me feel bad because the suspected attackers are known terrorists. How did they get in here? It means they were ahead of the game: our security should up theirs. I’m a Muslim and I know that’s not Islam. We don’t believe in such killings; in fact Islam means ‘peace’.

I’m a Kenyan Somali and it makes me fearful of security agents for they cannot differentiate Kenyan Somalis from immigrant Somalis. Other people perceive Somalis to be sheltering terrorists which is not usually the case. These people are trying to disintegrate Kenya but won’t succeed. We should be having a security overhaul in the next two weeks and I propose we get in young people with intellectual capacity to counter terrorists as they tend to think more broadly than our security apparatus. We should also be curious on who our neighbours are.

Wambui-Hawker
Though I have not been directly affected by the Westgate tragedy, I’m getting reports of people here and there who have perished. It’s indeed a sad affair. Moreover, business has been adversely affected and those of us who do business expect to feel the impact. I haven’t changed my opinion on Muslims as we have co-existed under the freedom of worship in the Constitution of Kenya. I have known Muslims to be very generous people and that makes me wonder why some of them are engaging in such acts.

Apart from mourning, we should watch over each other, and bond as Kenyans as we have done since the incident occurred. We should also be keen on our politicians who may seize the opportunity to divide us as they tend to do during elections.

Sadiq Karim-Student
I have two friends who were directly affected and they happen to be both schoolmates and neighbours. One was at the cooking event at Westgate and got shot in the arm and leg. He is recovering. The other one did not survive. It makes me very unhappy that many innocent lives were taken; man it’s devastating. I’m a Muslim and the tragedy won’t change my perception of Muslims. You see, terrorists have their own way of thinking. Terrorists are perverts; Muslims that I know are peaceful. This act was not a religious thing-the President even pointed out that three Americans were involved.

In the next two weeks, we should be united, have hope, pray for the innocent departed souls, have faith and believe in Kenya. As part of the initiative, we are setting up a peace concert where our rock band Moment of Silence will perform.

Tonny Kirui-Student
I wasn’t directly affected by the Westgate tragedy. However, I have very low confidence in the government. The glaring security lapses are key aspects to lay blame on even if there have been attempts to beef up security after the tragedy. Even though the Al-Shabaab claim to be Muslim, my opinion on the Muslims remains unchanged. These are individuals who commit massacres and conceal themselves behind the curtain of religion. I have Muslim friends some of whom are Somali. Sometimes it is difficult for security men to fight a segment of people from a population that looks so alike but it should be an excuse to generalize.

At the end of the day, our national security machinery should be held responsible because they clearly let slip for this tragedy to occur. I might be feeling a bit safe now but I’m still wary. We should keep a watchful eye and as citizens, pressure the government to provide us with satisfactory answers.

Timothy Mwangi-Computer Systems Engineer
Nobody I know in person was affected but I feel very sorry for the families of the deceased. Intelligence institutions in the country should have done a better job to prevent the attack. Though I don’t feel as safe as I used to before the attack, I know within a very short time I will have forgotten about it; I like to keep positive. I haven’t changed my opinion about Muslims; as with other religions and followings, we have extremes. And all these are extremes that affect us differently. It’s human nature to have extremes good, or bad. My opinion of Somalis remains unchanged.

Not only Nairobi should adjust as a result of the attack, but also the whole of Kenya. It’s important to mourn our departed because it’s natural but equally important is to take stock of what really happened and learn from the attack. Our intelligence service must simply stop sleeping on the job.

Report by Mark Namaswa