Guards tell court how Westgate raid began

Security guards testifying in the Westgate terror attack case yesterday recounted how three gunmen attacked the mall after alighting from a white car.

They told a court they saw the men shoot indiscriminately at people entering the mall.

“I was controlling traffic near the pedestrian entrance at around 12.30pm when I saw a white saloon car approach and three people came out after it stopped in the middle of the road,” Mr Stephen Juma Injusi said.

MENACING FACES

He said he never got to see if the car was driven off or if the driver joined the attackers.

“They were dressed in black jackets. One was tall and heavily built, the second was medium size and had ammunition slung over his chest,” the witness said.

The third attacker, he said, had a headscarf. “I did not take note of their faces as they were menacing,” the guard said.

He was testifying in a case in which Mr Mohammed Ahmed, Mr Ahmed Dheq, Mr Abdula Omar and Mr Hussein Hassan Mustafa are charged with the attack in which more than 67 people were killed.

Mr Injusi said the heavily-built man began shooting immediately he alighted.

He said he jumped over a wall into a compound where he took cover until 3pm.

The second witness, Mr Patrick Otwane, who was manning the entrance, said he first heard a loud explosion he assumed was a tyre burst.

“I approached the pedestrian entrance where I saw two men shooting at customers,” the witness said.

He said he was about 10 metres from where he saw the hooded men firing indiscriminately.

“They had Muslim headscarves and dark glasses. They were all in green trousers, brown t-shirts and jackets,” he said.

He said he hid in a sewer with two shoppers and a colleague.

He said the attackers were aged 18 to 25. Hearing continues today.