Westgate attack was horrific, recollects officer who lost fingers

What you need to know:

  • As they kept trying to locate where the gunshots were coming from, the six officers were sprayed with bullets from behind.
  • After he lost his fingers, Corporal Ewosit had to stop using the AK-47. He started using his Ceska pistol to counter the attackers. For half an hour, the shooting continued as the terrorists hid behind a stack of mattresses.
  • About an hour after Corporal Ewosit was shot, and when no more gunshots could be heard, the Nairobi County Deputy Police Commandant, Moses Ombati, came to the scene with other officers from the Recce Company.

Whenever he looks at his left hand, the events of the Westgate Mall terrorist attack on September 21, 2013, begin to replay in his mind.

Corporal Moses Ewosit lost his two fingers during the attack when the gunmen aimed at him during the first responders’ exchange of gunfire with the militants.

His Saturday began well until there was a distress call over the police radio as officers in Westlands asked for help to respond to an attack at the mall.

A few minutes after the police radio communication, his boss called him on his mobile phone and asked him to rush to the scene along with the officers he was with.

“We immediately set off in two vehicles as we strategised on how to handle the attackers, like we usually do. When we arrived at Valley Road, near the Provincial Police Post, I remembered that there was a bulletproof jacket in the van and I put it on,” said Corporal Ewosit.

When the six officers arrived at the mall, they found other officers already there. The most senior officer there was the then Kabete OCS, Chief Inspector Stephen Lelei.

WELCOMED BY GORY SCENES

“Gory scenes of dead women and children welcomed us outside the mall. In my 23 years of service, I had never seen such horror. Injured people lay helpless on the floor while others had been injured so badly that they were just too delicate to even help,” Corporal Ewosit said.

Gunshots inside the mall persisted as the officers tried to unravel what was going on, recognising that this was not an ordinary robbery incident.

“Those who had been shot showed no signs of having been robbed. Some had their phones, handbags and other things in their hands, and from our assessment the attack was being carried out by terrorists. ” he said.

Soon, the police officers, backed by a few licensed gun holders, entered the mall through the back entrance and went straight onto the rooftop, where a children’s cooking competition was being held.

“As we were proceeding to the back door, we saw a man jumping from the top floor to the ramp. He had a small baby in his arms and was asking us where his wife was. He was injured and seemed very confused, so we helped him and then went on with our operation,” Corporal Ewosit added.

As they kept trying to locate where the gunshots were coming from, the six officers were sprayed with bullets from behind.

“I was lucky to have spotted them fast, so I jumped and hid behind a pillar as I aimed my AK-47 rifle at them. Two of my colleagues fell on their stomachs and were shot several times,” he said.

As he hid behind the pillar his left hand, which was holding the gun, was sprayed with bullets and two of his fingers were hit and blown up.

“I saw my fingers being blown away. Then one of the bullets slipped through my chin. I touched my chin and realised that the bullet had not gone into my head and I smiled,” he recounted.

After he lost his fingers, Corporal Ewosit had to stop using the AK-47. He started using his Ceska pistol to counter the attackers. For half an hour, the shooting continued as the terrorists hid behind a stack of mattresses.

WATCHED AS OFFICER DIED

An officer from the elite Recce squad who had been shot in the head lay before the corporal in an exposed area.

“When he saw me moving, he kept asking me to save him. He kept crying and telling me that he had small children, that it was not too late to save him.

He kept asking me to rise up, that he had been injured more than me and that I was the only one who could save him, but I would not risk, even though I was not sure I would live to breathe in the next second. A few minutes later, the Recce officer dropped his head. He was dead. I still remember that officer to this day. May his soul rest in peace,” Corporal Ewosit recounted.

About an hour after Corporal Ewosit was shot, and when no more gunshots could be heard, the Nairobi County Deputy Police Commandant, Moses Ombati, came to the scene with other officers from the Recce Company.

“Mr Ombati wrapped my fingers in a white cloth and they pulled me out of the mall. It was a horrific scene. Many bodies were lying on the floor with blood from them slowly drying up,” he said.

Corporal Ewosit was taken to a hospital, where he met several other people he had seen and some of those he had saved.

As the country marks a year after the attack at the mall, Corporal Ewosit says that even though he lost two fingers, he is happy to be alive and to have saved many people during the attack.

“Above all, as a police officer, I would not wish the encounter to happen to anyone, even my worst enemy. I learnt a lot from the attack, though,” he said.

The father of four hopes that in future security operations will be better coordinated to ensure all civilians are rescued in time without many casualties.