Terror gang differed on children’s killing

PHOTO | FILE Mr Geoffery Khotia, an entertainer who was at a children’s cooking competition when terrorists attacked the Westgate mall, testified in court on March 6, 2014.

What you need to know:

  • Suspects renew attempts to be granted bail
  • Mr Geoffery Khotia, an entertainer who was at a children’s cooking competition on the fateful day, said two armed men appeared and hurled a grenade at them.

Westgate attackers differed on whether to kill or spare women and children, and taunted their victims to call President Uhuru Kenyatta for help, a witness narrated on Thursday.

Mr Geoffery Khotia, an entertainer who was at a children’s cooking competition on the fateful day, said two armed men appeared and hurled a grenade at them.

It exploded and burnt some of the participants.

He said two raiders speaking in English with an Arabic accent initially disagreed on whether they should kill the women and children attending the function.

“They said: You people, we have been asking you to become Muslims, but instead you kill our people... we Mujaheeden we don’t kill small children and women,” the witness said.

He said the man then ordered children and women who were lying down to get up, but his accomplice replied saying “but they have been killing our women and children so why spare them” before he started spraying people with bullets.

Mr Khotia said the attackers also taunted them to “call Uhuru Kenyatta to come to their rescue. ”

The witness said he was shot in the leg and pretended to be dead for one and a half hours before a rescue team later took him away from the scene.

“The shooting was directed at the crowd...I guess they believed they had killed everyone, I saw one of them make a phone call and talk in a language I did not understand, before they left,” the witness said.

BULLET REMOVED

He said the two men then went inside the mall after shooting indiscriminately. He was taken to hospital at around 4pm where a bullet lodged in his hip was removed and remained admitted for two weeks.

“I have not resumed my normal duties yet and I move with difficulty, I am still on medication,” he said.

He said he was as close as 15 meters from where the shooters stood but did not see their faces as they wore scarfs and had their heads covered in bandanas.

A police officer who collected exhibits after the siege displayed burnt out rifles he said he recovered in malls’ basement.

Mr Ezekiel Luley said four AK 47 rifles were found in a heap where human bones were also collected.

“A human skull and a jaw bone were also found in the debris,” he said.

The police officer also showed the court a G3 rifle he found next to the items alongside burnt out bullet holders.

“I also recovered another gun near two bodies of KDF soldiers,” he said.

The police officer told the court he also found fresh human body remains weighing 10 kilograms which was taken for forensic analysis. Hearing was adjourned to April 10.

Meanwhile, the suspects charged in the case have renewed a request for bail and a determination will be given on April 13.

An insurance agent also confirmed that his company insured the vehicle that ferried the terrorists to the Mall on September 21 2013.

But Mr Mohammed Sali said he did not personally deal with the man identified as Abdulahi Subbow in whose name a policy was registered.