Guns used in mall attack ‘diverse’

An assortment of firearms from different countries were used in the Westgate mall terrorist attack in which 67 people were killed, a court heard on Wednesday.

A ballistics expert said he did not separate the weaponry to ascertain which ones belonged to the terrorists or to the government forces as his mandate “was limited.”

Mr Lawrence Nthiwa said he examined a number of assorted rifles, 927 expended cartridges, 131 live bullets and a further 35 which were handed to him on different days.

He said though it was important to set apart the firearms belonging to the terrorists and those to government forces, his role was limited to finding out their country of origin, serial numbers and ascertaining whether the guns had been fired.

“I imagine the investigating officer did that bit…we do not keep a record of issued firearms at the ballistics laboratory,” Mr Nthiwa said.

He said the exhibits were submitted for testing between October 11, 2013 and January 24, 2014.

BULLETS RETRIEVED FROM BODIES

The first batch of exhibits included two G3 rifles, five Chinese-made AK47 rifles, one Belgian FN and several bullets retrieved from the bodies of victims of the September 21, 2013 attack.

ALSO READ : WESTGATE SUSPECTS FACE MORE CHARGES

Two Romanian-made AK47 rifles were also among the recovered weapons but were in poor condition, he said.

He also examined a package with 23 rifle magazines and another of magazine clips “to ascertain the type of rifle which uses such magazines.”

Mr Nthiwa said he also examined eight pieces of damaged rifles which included two Belgian-made FNs and two Chinese AK47s.

“Some of the weapons were not suitable for test firing because of the poor condition they were in when they were brought to the laboratory,” he said.

The guns, he told the court, were found in the debris in the basement of the mall and some of their serial numbers were no longer visible due to damage.
“I was tasked to ascertain whether the rifles had serial numbers, whether they had been issued to any of our security agents, whether the spent catridges matched the guns they were suspected to have been fired from, and their calibre,” Mr Nthiwa said.

When asked during cross-examination if any of the weapons he examined had been issued to Kenyan security forces, the witness said such a finding was “not within his mandate”.

He said though he had been tasked to do so, he deliberately “ignored that bit” as it would usurp the role of the investigating officer. “I imagine the investigating officer did that…” Mr Nthiwa said.

He was testifying during the trial of Mr Mohamed Abdi, Mr Liban Omar, Mr Adan Dheq and Mr Mustafa Hassan, who are charged with assisting the attackers of the mall.

Proceedings resume  next month.