We must never retreat in the face of terrorism

One year ago, Kenya was hit by a devastating terrorist attack whose outcome reverberates to this day. The September 21 siege on the upscale Westgate Shopping Mall killed 67 people and left thousands suffering serious bodily injuries, long-term mental and emotional loss and trauma.

For many of those for whom the 1998 bomb attack on the US embassy in Nairobi was just a distant memory, Westgate was a brutal reminder of the ever-present threat of terrorism, and the horror and devastation that a few bloodthirsty merchants of death can visit on an unguarded nation.

Prior to Westgate, Kenya had been hit by an escalating series of relatively minor grenade, machine gun and roadside bomb attacks attributed to Al-Shabbab.

The threat from the group based in neighbouring Somalia but with growing network in Kenya, had largely informed the rationale for ‘Operation Linda Nchi’, the military incursion into southern Somalia that eventually became part of the African Union mission, Amisom, in support of the legitimate authority in the lawless state.

Kenya was thus already on a state of permanent terror alert, but a small band of terrorists still made their way into the heart of the capital city, seized a shopping mall and held out for four days in a bloody siege that exposed our vulnerabilities.

Looked at in perspective, Westgate was an attack that brought out the best of Kenyans in times of adversity. It united the people like never before.

The tales of heroism, patriotism and bravery from the lightly-armed policemen on routine patrol, off-duty colleagues, private security guards and civilians who were first to confront the terrorists and rescue hundreds of shoppers, is the stuff of legend.

BRAVERY AND SACRIFICE

However, for every story of individual and group heroism, bravery and sacrifice, there are numerous stories of official bungling, bureaucratic impasse, turf wars and sheer incompetence that all expose the soft under-belly of a nation that ought to be on permanent state of alert.

The real story has never been told of the glaring security failures that allowed a band of terrorists to hold out on an extended siege in defiance of all that our security forces could throw at them.

From early on the government promised an independent inquiry, but the idea was seemingly shelved in preference for a cover-up. A report of a parliamentary inquiry into Westgate was more focused on a whitewash rather than in laying out the real truth of what went wrong.

Internal reviews by the different agencies involved added nothing useful because all focused on cleansing themselves and passing the buck.

Unless and until was resolve to confront the truth, we will not learn the lessons from Westgate that will prepare us to more effectively deal with the threat of future attacks.

Westgate reminded us that we must be forever on guard against the terrorist threat, and that we must with one resolve confront the monster in our midst. We will best do that when we learn the lessons from Westgate instead of burying our heads in the sand.

The best tribute we can pay to the victims of Westgate is to resolve that there can be no retreat and no surrender in the fight against terrorism.