|
|
Post by Onyango Oloo on Sept 25, 2013 15:38:24 GMT 3
Stay tuned for my upcoming digital essay on the Westgate terror assault.
Sincerely,
Onyango Oloo
|
|
|
|
Post by patriotism101 on Sept 25, 2013 16:05:34 GMT 3
I have never had qualms with that idea  It's been a while since we agreed on anything! Fret not, 20 years will be over before you know it... As my handle suggests- country first- just take me out of that box you have me shelved in and we can certainly see eyeball to eyeball. Senti 5 |
|
Ouali
Junior Member
Posts: 70
|
Post by Ouali on Sept 25, 2013 16:13:31 GMT 3
Its hard to come to terms with the obvious for some of us. Soon all the truth will be layed bare how this incompetent government and its security apparatus slept on the job from the word go. The truth is national security was reduced to an individuals personal challenge and the consequences are what kenyans in west gate had to go through.
What serious government would even talk of improving the economy before ensuring the security of its citizens . Those who are ready to die for this leadership in jukwaa please prop up your king and tell him kenyans are scared. How sure are you that the next target is not the building housing your place of work?.
Westgate can be anywhere so long as our security agencies still have their priorities in the wrong subject as they have exhibited to date.
|
|
|
|
Post by podp on Sept 25, 2013 17:07:39 GMT 3
Its hard to come to terms with the obvious for some of us. Soon all the truth will be layed bare how this incompetent government and its security apparatus slept on the job from the word go. The truth is national security was reduced to an individuals personal challenge and the consequences are what kenyans in west gate had to go through. What serious government would even talk of improving the economy before ensuring the security of its citizens . Those who are ready to die for this leadership in jukwaa please prop up your king and tell him kenyans are scared. How sure are you that the next target is not the building housing your place of work?. Westgate can be anywhere so long as our security agencies still have their priorities in the wrong subject as they have exhibited to date. your sound like this morning awakener I receive early today... Something wrong in Kenya There can be no denying the extraordinary challenges facing the Kenyan government. Yet as the last terrorists were being rooted out of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall at the end of a slaughter spree that has killed some 70 people and injured hundreds more, the Kenyan authorities need to be asking themselves some hard questions. This is a country which because it is actively involved in combating Al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia is supposed to be on the very highest state of alert. Kenya did not choose this confrontation. In 1998 it was an amiably corrupt and easygoing country with merely a nasty record of armed robberies, mostly of rich Western tourists. Then Al-Qaeda launched one of its very first international attacks, a deadly assault on the US embassy in the Kenyan capital which left 224 people dead the great majority of them Kenyans. Thereafter, there was a succession of small attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab which culminated in raids on Kenyan coastal tourist resorts and a Somali refugee camp, targeting and kidnapping foreigners. It was the final straw. Nairobi sent troops into Somali striking Al-Shabab fighters in the rear as they were pressed from the north by African Union forces. Thereafter, the terrorists resorted to low-level violence, mostly hit and run grenade attacks across the Somali border, until the attack by some 15 heavily armed men on the supposedly well-guarded up-market Westgate shopping center. The attackers managed to negotiate their way with all their weaponry through the capital’s roadblocks. They contrived to organize their deadly assault without the Kenyan intelligence services picking up the slightest inkling of what was about to happen. Something has got to be wrong somewhere. And the closer one looks at the way the tragic events unfolded, the more difficult questions it seems that the Kenyan authorities have to answer. Why for instance did it take almost half an hour for the first properly armed and equipped teams to arrive at the shopping mall? Why was there no proper building evacuation scheme nor any obvious plan to respond to a terrorist outrage within the complex? Acts of bravery by shopping center staff, individual police officers and ordinary members of the public cannot mask what appears to have been a series of bungles by all those who should have been responsible for the safety of the complex and its visitors. Journalists noted that when heavily-armed special forces arrived, some seemed nervous and confused, perhaps as a result of the shouting that could be heard from senior officers who themselves seemed poorly briefed and unprepared and as a result unsure of how best to proceed. The inevitable report into this horrific event may find that by delaying a rapid and firm response to the attack, the authorities permitted the terrorists to continue their killing spree and also allowed them to consolidate their position within the mall. Perhaps a clue to what went so disastrously wrong at the Westgate mall can be found in the devastating fire at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last month. Though the blaze broke out in the early morning, meaning no one was killed, the extent of the fire and the extraordinary delays in getting fire appliances to the scene raised major questions about the competence of the Kenyan authorities. The Westgate tragedy must compound these serious concerns. so after turning it over and over in my head and asking one or two non Kenyans their birds view one did offer the view that... I drove by a dead body this morning on the bypass between Wayaki way and Grevillea Grove. He was clearly beaten to death and been there for some time. We called an emergency line and ostensibly the police will come. On Ngong Rd across from Brew Bistro 2 weeks ago a boy was killed by a truck and his body lay on the side of the street for 2 hours (Ngong Rd, one of the busiest in town) before anybody official arrived at the scene.
How can it be expected that the Nairobi police handle one of the most complex hostage crises of the decade when they can't even respond to a dead body on the side of a major thoroughfare within 2 hours?
I visited Kigali 3 weeks ago and what it made me realize is that it's not an 'African thing' or a 'Developing World thing' that Nairobi is a disaster. It's a total lack of excellence at every level of government. Kigali is better run in every respect than Nairobi and for the most part, it just comes down to better management.
I'm not one for recriminations and at a time like this am mostly just sad. In the end, I'm an American and can't effect change here - it's up to Nairobians and Kenyans to say enough is enough and to demand that the public safety system be reformed.
1. A 911 (or 999) emergency call center
2. All police wearing ID numbers and equipped with a ticket book so they can write tickets
3. A new type of police with a different uniform that receive double pay but will be fired if found guilty of corruption
4. All police equipped with a mode of transportation (even just a mountain bike)
5. All police equipped with a radio
Is this too much to ask of a city that bills itself as the capital of anything?so thinking of solutions and more solutions to what ails us... 1. Get the police off the road and lets use the traffic lights and flog those who do not respect them, on the spot. The terrorists must have been in stitches as they passed the various police manned junctions. 2. Those who use county (formerly council) parking on a daily basis please buy seasonal tickets so as to reduce the temptation to bribe, you will also have made sure that your payments gets into the rightful coffers. 3. If you have total dark tint on your car windows remove them as you will realise the folly of having them when you have been car jacked and watch as you pass police who cannot see you sandwiched between the two thugs with guns on their laps 4. In IT security the greatest threat is from those within which is why now we implement behavior detection solutions not padlocks, razor wire and mirrors to protect our assets let us work on developing intelligence systems that work towards prevention. 5. Tomorrow when you visit some of this highly secure locations after the askari has finished checking your boot asking if a "bomb" can fit under the rear seat or within the spare tire, and when at the reception they ask you to leave behind your ID ask them how they expect your body to be identified if you dropped dead in the corridor - I really hate mediocrity especially when we institutionalize the same. 6. Those who have access to the owners of the paybill number 848484 please ask them if they can provide a toll free number for the police and also connectivity to all the police stations and police posts so that we can finally get back our 999, to hell with 911 I will never remember it when under pressure. 7. If you have access to the CS ICT and the acting head of the KICTA please ask them to include some component of funding to equip the emergency services call center instead of having hackathons to develop applications that will never see the light of day. 8. A year or so ago we raised 1 billion to help those who had been affected by famine and then we killed them faster by sending them grains infected with Aflatoxin yet no one followed up, we have also never seen a comprehensive report on how the funds where used which confirms what has been echoed on this thread - we are rotten to the core both public and private sector 9. We recently had a rogue bus driver kill 41 Kenyans I saw no counseling desks, hash tags, or paybill numbers all because those affected were far removed from those of us who can drive our private cars to the village, what happened on Saturday is a culmination of our arrogant disregard for the less fortunate amongst us. Let us have a uniform response to calamities irrespective of which social strata is affected all of us spent 9 months in our mothers wombs 10. Many of you, I distance myself, do not know what happens in the lives of the many, every day at the various matatu terminus be it in the CBD or the farthest corner of Kayole the owners are being extorted by the so called touts. I calculated the amount recently when waiting to take a matatu home, the stage operators make 100 - 200 shillings from each matatu that originates or terminates at the terminus. An average matatu does 20 trips and there are about 50 matatus on my route, do the math. If the entire security system can look the other way as this goes on right under their noses how do we expect them to identify a terrorist activity? |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2013 17:25:47 GMT 3
I have never had qualms with that idea It's been a while since we agreed on anything! Fret not, 20 years will be over before you know it... dream the fawk on. 20 years of uhuruto? Kenyans with all of our struggles will show you. The arrogance in team we hate ICC and the tyranny of numbers crew won't know what hit them when it does. Let's see what happens on on monday when ruto is supposed to report to ICC and we'll go from there. Also, tragic for Kenyans that the mall shootings took place, but I'm not convinced that the shootings were tragic for uhuruto who must surely send that thank you note to the terrorists. |
|
|
|
Post by podp on Sept 25, 2013 18:17:12 GMT 3
Stay tuned for my upcoming digital essay on the Westgate terror assault. Sincerely, Onyango OlooBelow are some of the Tough questions: 1. How many people are still unaccounted for? 2. How many terrorists were involved in the attack? Are they all accounted for? 3. Amb Amina Mohammed said there was at least one female terrorist whom she identified as a Briton. Interior Cabinet Secretary Ole Lenku in a press briefing said they were all men. Could you clarify? Was Samantha Lewthwaite one of the attackers? 4. What of the reports the at least one terrorist escaped from Westgate? Again, Amb Amina Mohammed in her Al Jazeera English interview suggested some might have hidden among hostages and escaped. Who were the people arrested in JKIA? Were any of them in Westgate? Will any arrested terrorists be put on trial here or handed over to other states? 5. Are there any terrorists on the loose in the city who are yet to be captured? 6. Will there be an inquiry into the attack to identify potential improvements to intelligence and security? What powers of investigative authority will the group tasked with the inquiry be given? 7. Was fire on terrace started by terrorists to burn hostages and swap identities? How many escaped? www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000094265&story_title=hard-questions-kenyans-want-answered-after-mall-attack 23. When will a report by NSIS be made public with an analysis of the security situation prior and after the attack? Were we caught by surprise? If so,why? Did we know or at least suspect something like this? If so, what did we do to try averting the same? And most important, what’s the security position now? 25. In times of disasters and any such tragedies, why can't we have a clear command structure to ensure that orders and coordination comes from one person and thereby eliminate the possibility of terrorist gelling with victims and escaping so easily? 26. Why was there conflicting information from different government sources? 28. What is the role of Rachel Omamo in the security military operation? 29.Were Kenyan Forces in control of CCTV control room by 11am Tuesday morning? 30. Can we see the bodies of the “neutralized” terrorists? 31. What do we stand to gain by KDF being in Somalia? 33. Is it true that Samantha Lewthwaite aka White Widow bribed to avoid a jail term ? Who did she bribe? Where is she? What does she know? 34. Samantha Lewthwaite has been to Kenya twice (In 2011 and 2012). How did she stroll through our airports undetected? She’s been on FBI’s and Interpol’s watch list since 20. 35. Why won't they tell us how many hostages were rescued or where they were taken to? Why is there so much secrecy? 36. Did the Kenyan military have access to the basement parking by Tuesday 11am? 38. Every crime has a fixer. How is it possible that someone can procure such a huge cache of arms and ship it without our NSIS knowing? If the arms were imported, what are we doing to secure our borders? 39. Somalia. Let’s talk about Kenya’s invasion of Somalia. Are we finally paying for this? And if so, how can we be sure that victory is ours when victory for now just means reclaiming Westgate? What about the future? 40. Why is Kenya a terrorist target for the ninth time? What have we done? More importantly, why is the Government not able to protect its citizens? For how long will we react instead of preventing? 41. Ole Lenku said fire that started on Monday was caused by mattresses being torched by terrorists. Some time before, he had claimed that the terrorists had been “contained” in a section in one of the “upper floors”. If this is true, how did the terrorists gain entry into Nakumatt on the second floor? Better yet, isn’t Nakumatt on the ground floor in Westgate mall? www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000094265&story_title=hard-questions-kenyans-want-answered-after-westgate-terror-attack&pageNo=444. Why didn’t the government jam telephone network and ask service providers to block signals to Nairobi area once the magnitude was clear on day 2? 45. The public have a right to know how many citizens were killed. Fudging information won’t help. Also, information on terrorists caught, killed, and those who escaped. Will we be told the truth? 51. Are there underground tunnels eg sewage ducts at the mall that could act as passageways? 52. What do MPs and “national politicians” gain by insisting that the terrorists did not have a religious angle to their approach (even if misconceived)? Are politicians being genuine, naive or simply avoiding to explore the root cause? 53. Why would a 27-year-old soldier who has served for only 4 years be detailed to undertake an operation of that magnitude? 55. How safe are our borders? 56. What caused the floors to collapse? 62. How many children died? 65. Why did it take more than 30 minutes for the security system to get activated and act from the time the first distress signal was sent? |
|
|
|
Post by jakaswanga on Sept 25, 2013 18:49:09 GMT 3
Stay tuned for my upcoming digital essay on the Westgate terror assault. Sincerely, Onyango Oloo I see podp is also on your tail, prodding. I am over there at Wanyee's, doing the same. You got your work cut out for you, it would appear! cheers! |
|
|
|
Post by jakaswanga on Sept 25, 2013 18:57:11 GMT 3
I have never had qualms with that idea It's been a while since we agreed on anything! Fret not, 20 years will be over before you know it... Indeed time does pass on turbo gear! But a detail bothered me. 20 years Uhuruto, Uhuru said, with the sequence Uhuru the first decade, concurrently! I would worry if I were Ruto! --why? The history of power-deal MOU's in Kenya is sad. The sequence therefor should be Uhuru 5, then Ruto 5, then Uhuru again, ad infinitum ==This is the PUTIN-MEDVEDEV MODEL IN RUSSIA! A dose of mistrust in power is healthy, in Kenya, a guaranteed vaccine! Look at the way Uhuru did in Mudavadi! A warning on trusting him perhaps!? ---But Ruto, I am sure, needs no advice on mistrust! Uhuru too must have studied what Ruto did to Moi and Raila! It is a perfect match! these two! If a week is a long time in politics, then a decade is eternity! But still, time does fly!  ---in jail too! |
|
|
|
Post by OtishOtish on Sept 25, 2013 21:09:58 GMT 3
If at any point, while you read what follows, you feel inclined to call me a cynical, insensitive fwack, then please feel free to do so. But I would encourage you not to dwell on such points, and there is a very simple reason for that: I will ignore whatever you have to say and simply dish up some more of the same.
So, here I am watching the Kenyan media. Undoubtedly an "outstanding" response by many segments of the Kenyan society. A very broad response to what must be a tragedy to many people: Kenyans donating money and blood; MPs falling all over each other to say the same thing, which so far has mostly been nothing; the "disciplined forces" praised to the sky for giving the attackers one heck of a bloody nose, even though it appears that they got as much as they gave; and so on and so forth. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard that Kenya is a great country; the hard facts clearly indicate otherwise.
Now, here is what gets me and what I really don't understand: why don't we ever get this sort of response when the terrorists are local?
* It is routine to hear about one local group terrorizing another. These are usually dismissed as "routine tribal clashes". Always followed by an "investigation" and a report that gets filed away to gather dust on some government shelve. Remote places, no big names, no malls and high-flying foreigners, no fancy life insurance ... These are always very quickly forgotten, even though the effects are more widespread and longer-lasting, precisly because these are no-name, no-place people. Within even the memory of a small child or even a bird: the Tana River Massacres. The national response to that? Ah, yes! There was an "investigation" and a "report". Well then!
* Moving beyond inter-tribe and inter-clan terrorism routine clashes, we have good, old-fashioned, state-sponsored terrorism, by none other than that so-called disciplined forces of Kenya. (The "disciplined" here brings to mind the "democratic" in the names of North Korea and similar countries.) Sadly, they can't be dismissed as a joke because they are a real disaster, even if marginally above the police and GSU goons. Mt. Elgon, Wagalla, ... one wonders what they would be like if they lost "discipline".
* I also heard Uhuru talk about "intelligence reports". What cheek, considering that for some time now the full-time job of Kenya's "intelligence serivices" has bene the hunting-down and dealing with witnesses and victims in certain high-profile criminal cases. As a matter of fact, I expect that this tragedy will soon be very useful in strenuous, last-ditch efforts to derail the the said criminal cases. How's that for timing!
* And then there is the dubious psychology that goes with the rich, the foreign, the famous, the white. I got a load of that and considered it a pity that the Kenyan media could not give as much as attention to the "small" Kenyan people. Perhaps there will be a day when Kenyans will similarly respond when poor Kenyans, anywhere, but especially in remote places, are terrorized by fellow Kenyans and their "disciplined" forces.
Ah! Let's not forget all the excitiment that a woman might have been involved. And not just a woman, but a white woman! A genuine mzungu woman! Aiyaya! (Some quick bloggers have already come up with the label of "white-widow terrorist" and are really going to town with that one. One can only imagine how many "pious and religious" Kenyan men have been and are jerking off over a pale, hijab-clad woman, wielding an assault rifle and giving orders.)
* The idea that these attackers sneaked through the border etc. is astonishing. All foreigners with enough money---from Somalia and elsewhere--- have long been able to buy Kenyan citizenship. Even as I write this, it's going on! Why on earth does anybody think that the people involved are not "Kenyans" and would have to sneak in across some border? None other than a senior government official is on the record as stating that the head of the snake is in Nairobi!
What happened at the mall is a tragedy. That must be accepted as such. But one hopes that the day will come when the Kenyans can respond similarly in those instances when Kenyans are terrorized by Kenyans, including the Kenyan "Disciplined" Forces. The same wailing and gnashing of teeth when it's Wagalla, Mt. Elgon, Mungiki, ... Let the poor, marginalized Kenyan living in some remote part of the country also be recognized as worthy of the same sort of national anguish.
A bit of irony: Today Kenya's leaders stand accused in the world's highest criminal court, for doing very nasty things to Kenyans. They are there because Kenya chose to do nothing about the 2007-2008 PEV. One of those "leaders" made a request to "return home to deal with ...". The Defence team for some little journalist supported that on the basis that under the Rome Statute a state has a duty to deal with people who have committed international crimes and said leader has to return home to do some dealing-with! The cheek of it.
Another bit of irony: Yes, Kenya is definitely turning East.
|
|
Ouali
Junior Member
Posts: 70
|
Post by Ouali on Sept 25, 2013 23:40:10 GMT 3
Oti needless to excuse yourself not even for being over ambitious with the kenyan security agents. I am told a british security officer who happened to be at the mall saved more than 100 kenyans. Needless to say he came back to the mall 12 or so times looking for trapped victims during the shooting. If the kenyan police had 50 such men would we be talking of the westgates massacre?
But this is kenya a land where neither the police forces nor the intelligence services can track or stop cattle rustlers. Meaning even the crudest not to say primitive of crimes is still a challenge what do you expect them to do against sophisticated terrorists.Is it not asking too much.
But since the state has serious bussiness a la Haye, the security agencies can give their all to it to the detriment of citizens security and its just normal that way.
Its normal to make a mistake once but when the same mistake is made twice we call you stupid. This is not the first terrorist attack in kenya and we had hoped there was some preparedness but alas Karamba!!! back to square one.
|
|
|
|
Post by merkeju on Sept 26, 2013 2:26:46 GMT 3
Stay tuned for my upcoming digital essay on the Westgate terror assault. Sincerely, Onyango OlooBelow are some of the Tough questions: 1. How many people are still unaccounted for? 2. How many terrorists were involved in the attack? Are they all accounted for? 3. Amb Amina Mohammed said there was at least one female terrorist whom she identified as a Briton. Interior Cabinet Secretary Ole Lenku in a press briefing said they were all men. Could you clarify? Was Samantha Lewthwaite one of the attackers? 4. What of the reports the at least one terrorist escaped from Westgate? Again, Amb Amina Mohammed in her Al Jazeera English interview suggested some might have hidden among hostages and escaped. Who were the people arrested in JKIA? Were any of them in Westgate? Will any arrested terrorists be put on trial here or handed over to other states? 5. Are there any terrorists on the loose in the city who are yet to be captured? 6. Will there be an inquiry into the attack to identify potential improvements to intelligence and security? What powers of investigative authority will the group tasked with the inquiry be given? 7. Was fire on terrace started by terrorists to burn hostages and swap identities? How many escaped? www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000094265&story_title=hard-questions-kenyans-want-answered-after-mall-attack 23. When will a report by NSIS be made public with an analysis of the security situation prior and after the attack? Were we caught by surprise? If so,why? Did we know or at least suspect something like this? If so, what did we do to try averting the same? And most important, what’s the security position now? 25. In times of disasters and any such tragedies, why can't we have a clear command structure to ensure that orders and coordination comes from one person and thereby eliminate the possibility of terrorist gelling with victims and escaping so easily? 26. Why was there conflicting information from different government sources? 28. What is the role of Rachel Omamo in the security military operation? 29.Were Kenyan Forces in control of CCTV control room by 11am Tuesday morning? 30. Can we see the bodies of the “neutralized” terrorists? 31. What do we stand to gain by KDF being in Somalia? 33. Is it true that Samantha Lewthwaite aka White Widow bribed to avoid a jail term ? Who did she bribe? Where is she? What does she know? 34. Samantha Lewthwaite has been to Kenya twice (In 2011 and 2012). How did she stroll through our airports undetected? She’s been on FBI’s and Interpol’s watch list since 20. 35. Why won't they tell us how many hostages were rescued or where they were taken to? Why is there so much secrecy? 36. Did the Kenyan military have access to the basement parking by Tuesday 11am? 38. Every crime has a fixer. How is it possible that someone can procure such a huge cache of arms and ship it without our NSIS knowing? If the arms were imported, what are we doing to secure our borders? 39. Somalia. Let’s talk about Kenya’s invasion of Somalia. Are we finally paying for this? And if so, how can we be sure that victory is ours when victory for now just means reclaiming Westgate? What about the future? 40. Why is Kenya a terrorist target for the ninth time? What have we done? More importantly, why is the Government not able to protect its citizens? For how long will we react instead of preventing? 41. Ole Lenku said fire that started on Monday was caused by mattresses being torched by terrorists. Some time before, he had claimed that the terrorists had been “contained” in a section in one of the “upper floors”. If this is true, how did the terrorists gain entry into Nakumatt on the second floor? Better yet, isn’t Nakumatt on the ground floor in Westgate mall? www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000094265&story_title=hard-questions-kenyans-want-answered-after-westgate-terror-attack&pageNo=444. Why didn’t the government jam telephone network and ask service providers to block signals to Nairobi area once the magnitude was clear on day 2? 45. The public have a right to know how many citizens were killed. Fudging information won’t help. Also, information on terrorists caught, killed, and those who escaped. Will we be told the truth? 51. Are there underground tunnels eg sewage ducts at the mall that could act as passageways? 52. What do MPs and “national politicians” gain by insisting that the terrorists did not have a religious angle to their approach (even if misconceived)? Are politicians being genuine, naive or simply avoiding to explore the root cause? 53. Why would a 27-year-old soldier who has served for only 4 years be detailed to undertake an operation of that magnitude? 55. How safe are our borders? 56. What caused the floors to collapse? 62. How many children died? 65. Why did it take more than 30 minutes for the security system to get activated and act from the time the first distress signal was sent? After reading this bostonherald.com/news_opinion/international/africa/2013/09/fbi_agents_work_in_nightmarish_scene_at_kenya_mallI came across the following passages Video of the roof collapse showed massive carnage. The collapse came Monday, shortly after four large explosions rang out followed by billows of black smoke. Although a government minister said the terrorists had set mattresses on fire, causing the roof to collapse, the video showed such massive destruction that the explanation seemed unlikely to be the full story.
Al-Shabab on its Twitter feed Wednesday claimed that the Kenyan government assault team carried out "a demolition" of the building.
and this one Al-Shabab said the Kenyan government assault team carried out "a demolition" of the building, burying 137 hostages in the debris. A government spokesman denied the claim and said Kenyan forces were clearing all rooms Wednesday, firing as they moved and encountering no one.
The al-Shabab claim appeared to refer to the rocket-propelled grenades fired inside the Nakumatt department store, in the incident described to AP by a government official.
In a series of tweets from a Twitter account believed to be genuine, al-Shabab also said that "having failed to defeat the mujahideen inside the mall, the Kenyan govt disseminated chemical gases to end the siege."
Kenyan government spokesman Manoah Esipisu told AP that no chemical weapons were used — including tear gas — and that the collapse of floors in the mall was caused by a fire set by the terrorists.
"Al-Shabab is known for wild allegations and there is absolutely no truth to what they're saying," he said. But officials said the death count will likely rise.It is something that needs answers, did the government intentionally decided to sacrifice the life of its own citizen to end the siege, the media, the leaders are all quiet on this very serious matter, did the government demolished the building and hence the collapse of the building killing many more Kenyans?, who will answer this, the government? or have we accepted the version of the government and the media silence on this topic. |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 2:42:43 GMT 3
As far as I recall, the NIS's mandate doesn't give them the authority to arrest anyone. Hell they don't even carry firearms, unless Westgate or KE's 9-11 part 2 will lead to New legislation to that effect. Their work is simply to collect information, relay it to the executive & other relevant authorities, & move on to the next case... So you're telling us that a senator informs "security organs and intelligence officers" of such serious matters and then what happened b6k? If NIS followed the process you gloss over, what are Kenyans and the world to conclude? What then did the executive do with that information? Kathure, why zero in solely on the executive when I clearly said information is relayed to "the executive & other relevant authorities"? |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 2:48:44 GMT 3
As far as I recall, the NIS's mandate doesn't give them the authority to arrest anyone. Hell they don't even carry firearms, unless Westgate or KE's 9-11 part 2 will lead to New legislation to that effect. Their work is simply to collect information, relay it to the executive & other relevant authorities, & move on to the next case... The restructured NIS (note that it is a change from the previous NSIS where the word Security was dropped) is a product of our activist driven constitution. There is no envision of intelligence and security going hand in hand, so the NIS gets intel as it did from Sonko, analyses it and hands it over to the police for execution. The police decide if they will arrest, extra-judicially kill the suspect or just let the people go depending on what bribe they get. The NIS is not armed and has no power or arrest or detention thanks to the work of their predecessors - Special Branch! Absolutely! The NIS are little less than data collectors or "clerks"... |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 2:54:27 GMT 3
It's been a while since we agreed on anything! Fret not, 20 years will be over before you know it... As my handle suggests- country first- just take me out of that box you have me shelved in and we can certainly see eyeball to eyeball. Senti 5 P101,I refer you to my avatar & you might find we are not as disparate in the realm of patriotism as you may think... |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 2:59:56 GMT 3
Its hard to come to terms with the obvious for some of us. Soon all the truth will be layed bare how this incompetent government and its security apparatus slept on the job from the word go. The truth is national security was reduced to an individuals personal challenge and the consequences are what kenyans in west gate had to go through. What serious government would even talk of improving the economy before ensuring the security of its citizens . Those who are ready to die for this leadership in jukwaa please prop up your king and tell him kenyans are scared. How sure are you that the next target is not the building housing your place of work?. Westgate can be anywhere so long as our security agencies still have their priorities in the wrong subject as they have exhibited to date. Have you considered a "false flag" Wanyee style motive? That aside, arguments can be made to the effect that the Westgate attack was a "hangover" of Otieno Kajwang's tenure at Immigration. After all, on whose watch did the "White Widow" come into KE? |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 3:06:30 GMT 3
Its hard to come to terms with the obvious for some of us. Soon all the truth will be layed bare how this incompetent government and its security apparatus slept on the job from the word go. The truth is national security was reduced to an individuals personal challenge and the consequences are what kenyans in west gate had to go through. What serious government would even talk of improving the economy before ensuring the security of its citizens . Those who are ready to die for this leadership in jukwaa please prop up your king and tell him kenyans are scared. How sure are you that the next target is not the building housing your place of work?. Westgate can be anywhere so long as our security agencies still have their priorities in the wrong subject as they have exhibited to date. your sound like this morning awakener I receive early today... Something wrong in Kenya There can be no denying the extraordinary challenges facing the Kenyan government. Yet as the last terrorists were being rooted out of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall at the end of a slaughter spree that has killed some 70 people and injured hundreds more, the Kenyan authorities need to be asking themselves some hard questions. This is a country which because it is actively involved in combating Al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia is supposed to be on the very highest state of alert. Kenya did not choose this confrontation. In 1998 it was an amiably corrupt and easygoing country with merely a nasty record of armed robberies, mostly of rich Western tourists. Then Al-Qaeda launched one of its very first international attacks, a deadly assault on the US embassy in the Kenyan capital which left 224 people dead the great majority of them Kenyans. Thereafter, there was a succession of small attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab which culminated in raids on Kenyan coastal tourist resorts and a Somali refugee camp, targeting and kidnapping foreigners. It was the final straw. Nairobi sent troops into Somali striking Al-Shabab fighters in the rear as they were pressed from the north by African Union forces. Thereafter, the terrorists resorted to low-level violence, mostly hit and run grenade attacks across the Somali border, until the attack by some 15 heavily armed men on the supposedly well-guarded up-market Westgate shopping center. The attackers managed to negotiate their way with all their weaponry through the capital’s roadblocks. They contrived to organize their deadly assault without the Kenyan intelligence services picking up the slightest inkling of what was about to happen. Something has got to be wrong somewhere. And the closer one looks at the way the tragic events unfolded, the more difficult questions it seems that the Kenyan authorities have to answer. Why for instance did it take almost half an hour for the first properly armed and equipped teams to arrive at the shopping mall? Why was there no proper building evacuation scheme nor any obvious plan to respond to a terrorist outrage within the complex? Acts of bravery by shopping center staff, individual police officers and ordinary members of the public cannot mask what appears to have been a series of bungles by all those who should have been responsible for the safety of the complex and its visitors. Journalists noted that when heavily-armed special forces arrived, some seemed nervous and confused, perhaps as a result of the shouting that could be heard from senior officers who themselves seemed poorly briefed and unprepared and as a result unsure of how best to proceed. The inevitable report into this horrific event may find that by delaying a rapid and firm response to the attack, the authorities permitted the terrorists to continue their killing spree and also allowed them to consolidate their position within the mall. Perhaps a clue to what went so disastrously wrong at the Westgate mall can be found in the devastating fire at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last month. Though the blaze broke out in the early morning, meaning no one was killed, the extent of the fire and the extraordinary delays in getting fire appliances to the scene raised major questions about the competence of the Kenyan authorities. The Westgate tragedy must compound these serious concerns. so after turning it over and over in my head and asking one or two non Kenyans their birds view one did offer the view that... I drove by a dead body this morning on the bypass between Wayaki way and Grevillea Grove. He was clearly beaten to death and been there for some time. We called an emergency line and ostensibly the police will come. On Ngong Rd across from Brew Bistro 2 weeks ago a boy was killed by a truck and his body lay on the side of the street for 2 hours (Ngong Rd, one of the busiest in town) before anybody official arrived at the scene.
How can it be expected that the Nairobi police handle one of the most complex hostage crises of the decade when they can't even respond to a dead body on the side of a major thoroughfare within 2 hours?
I visited Kigali 3 weeks ago and what it made me realize is that it's not an 'African thing' or a 'Developing World thing' that Nairobi is a disaster. It's a total lack of excellence at every level of government. Kigali is better run in every respect than Nairobi and for the most part, it just comes down to better management.
I'm not one for recriminations and at a time like this am mostly just sad. In the end, I'm an American and can't effect change here - it's up to Nairobians and Kenyans to say enough is enough and to demand that the public safety system be reformed.
1. A 911 (or 999) emergency call center
2. All police wearing ID numbers and equipped with a ticket book so they can write tickets
3. A new type of police with a different uniform that receive double pay but will be fired if found guilty of corruption
4. All police equipped with a mode of transportation (even just a mountain bike)
5. All police equipped with a radio
Is this too much to ask of a city that bills itself as the capital of anything?so thinking of solutions and more solutions to what ails us... 1. Get the police off the road and lets use the traffic lights and flog those who do not respect them, on the spot. The terrorists must have been in stitches as they passed the various police manned junctions. 2. Those who use county (formerly council) parking on a daily basis please buy seasonal tickets so as to reduce the temptation to bribe, you will also have made sure that your payments gets into the rightful coffers. 3. If you have total dark tint on your car windows remove them as you will realise the folly of having them when you have been car jacked and watch as you pass police who cannot see you sandwiched between the two thugs with guns on their laps 4. In IT security the greatest threat is from those within which is why now we implement behavior detection solutions not padlocks, razor wire and mirrors to protect our assets let us work on developing intelligence systems that work towards prevention. 5. Tomorrow when you visit some of this highly secure locations after the askari has finished checking your boot asking if a "bomb" can fit under the rear seat or within the spare tire, and when at the reception they ask you to leave behind your ID ask them how they expect your body to be identified if you dropped dead in the corridor - I really hate mediocrity especially when we institutionalize the same. 6. Those who have access to the owners of the paybill number 848484 please ask them if they can provide a toll free number for the police and also connectivity to all the police stations and police posts so that we can finally get back our 999, to hell with 911 I will never remember it when under pressure. 7. If you have access to the CS ICT and the acting head of the KICTA please ask them to include some component of funding to equip the emergency services call center instead of having hackathons to develop applications that will never see the light of day. 8. A year or so ago we raised 1 billion to help those who had been affected by famine and then we killed them faster by sending them grains infected with Aflatoxin yet no one followed up, we have also never seen a comprehensive report on how the funds where used which confirms what has been echoed on this thread - we are rotten to the core both public and private sector 9. We recently had a rogue bus driver kill 41 Kenyans I saw no counseling desks, hash tags, or paybill numbers all because those affected were far removed from those of us who can drive our private cars to the village, what happened on Saturday is a culmination of our arrogant disregard for the less fortunate amongst us. Let us have a uniform response to calamities irrespective of which social strata is affected all of us spent 9 months in our mothers wombs 10. Many of you, I distance myself, do not know what happens in the lives of the many, every day at the various matatu terminus be it in the CBD or the farthest corner of Kayole the owners are being extorted by the so called touts. I calculated the amount recently when waiting to take a matatu home, the stage operators make 100 - 200 shillings from each matatu that originates or terminates at the terminus. An average matatu does 20 trips and there are about 50 matatus on my route, do the math. If the entire security system can look the other way as this goes on right under their noses how do we expect them to identify a terrorist activity? Jeez! I believed your hype until you said the "Mussolini" Kagame is the way for ME to go. Do you read the news? |
|
|
|
Post by b6k on Sept 26, 2013 3:13:50 GMT 3
It's been a while since we agreed on anything! Fret not, 20 years will be over before you know it... dream the fawk on. 20 years of uhuruto? Kenyans with all of our struggles will show you. The arrogance in team we hate ICC and the tyranny of numbers crew won't know what hit them when it does. Let's see what happens on on monday when ruto is supposed to report to ICC and we'll go from there. Also, tragic for Kenyans that the mall shootings took place, but I'm not convinced that the shootings were tragic for uhuruto who must surely send that thank you note to the terrorists. You say "fawk", others say "fwak". Nice language for a lady moderator. As I have said before, I didn't support Uhuruto since I didn't agree with half of the equation. My sentiments haven't changed. Calling out the ICC for the kangaroo court it is doesn't translate to blanket support of Uhuruto... |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2013 21:07:14 GMT 3
Westgate hostages were tortured Thursday, September 26, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY STAR REPORTER DEADLY: A photo grab from the Westgate CCTV footage shows some of the terrorists inside the mall. A doctor who has been working at the Westgate Mall has claimed that terrorists tortured their victims before killing them. "Those are not allegations. Those are f****ng truths. They removed balls, eyes, ears, nose. They get your hand and sharpen it like a pencil then they tell you to write your name with the blood. They drive knives inside a child's body. Actually if you look at all the bodies, unless those ones that were escaping, fingers are cut by pliers, the noses are ripped by pliers." The doctor who wished to remain anonymous said what he saw was worse that the deaths from the Sachangwan oil tanker explosion that claimed 139 lives in Jaunaury 2009 and the Sinai fire tragedy that killed 101 people in September 2011. "Sachangwan and Sinai is 50 percent of this. Sachangwan and Sinai you are sure of one thing...it is fire. And those people before they died they fell unconscious. Here it was pain. You find people with hooks hanging from the roof," he said. The doctor was deployed to the scene yesterday morning. "The bomb squad determines a lot because they have to move toe after toe, leg after leg (to ensure there are no bombs left behind)," he said. "Chances of them finishing by 4am (this morning) as is being said is nil. They haven't covered half of basement. By the time I was leaving that place they had only checked 14 vehicles. They are in three groups. The first group goes in and clears, the second group comes in and clears, the third group comes in and clears. Sometimes the doctors get tired, you have to give them a break. And where the bodies were stacked up it is very tricky, so you have to be very smart," he said. Bomb experts were deployed to the building yesterday, together with forensic experts. After an area was declared free from bombs, the forensic experts would sweep the room before doctors and other medical staff were called to remove bodies of people killed by the terrorists. A witness at the scene counted 10 bodies being removed in body bags. Engineers will then advise on the structural soundness of the building after half of the overhead parking area collapsed into the floors below. www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-137367/westgate-hostages-were-tortured |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2013 10:25:46 GMT 3
|
|
|
|
Post by kamalet on Sept 28, 2013 12:07:43 GMT 3
Reading what the likes of Podp and company write and the questions they ask, one wonders what they will do with the answers if they were ever given the answers. The is of course the Right to Know and the Need to Know which would provide a quick answer to all these questions.
Our American friend Podpis happy to point out our disorganisation to a point of prefering the 'arrangement' in Kigali courtesy of tall man Kagame. We are Kenyans, we are peculiar and sometimes need to be herded like goats. That is why even with traffic lights we still need traffic police to shoo us through roundabouts. Pulling the policemen from the roundabouts and putting them on the streets will not be the solution to preventing the next terrorist attack. Perhaps a good example of a functioning intelligence service as it is sold is in the US of A where Podp hails from. After the sad events of 9/11 you would not have expected a terrorist attack, but it happened this year at the Boston Marathon. But that does not mean that the US intelligence services have not stopped many more attacks before they happened. In all those instances, no news of what has been stopped is shared in the media and I am certain the inquiry into Boston will not get you all the answers!
There is a great ignorance on the workings of the security services since the promulgation of the new constitution and the enabling laws they are supposed to operate from. The government has invested considerably in its intelligence gathering and works very closely with its international friends especially in the war on terror. As I mentioned the limitations of the NIS (not NSIS)working with an old law that completely emasculates its ability to be a functional Intelligence Service and with the stalled NIS Bill in parliament because some human rights activists think that the service could be used for political services means that the service is nothing more that a group of reporting clerks who can only point at X as being a possible terrorist and hope the police follow up on the intel given to them on X. The NIS bill if passed as it is allows for the agents of the service to hold a person for a maximum of 6 hours in investigation and if needed for longer, then the person must be handed over to a police station. It also allows for the agency to apply for a high court arrest warrant for anyone they are seeking for their operations. So yes Gichangi had the intelligence and passed it on to the relevant consumers of the report. How the report is dealt with is another thing. Without a specific date or specific target but a range of dates and several targets the work for the police is cut out for they have to balance out on what is deemed the highest value target and work on it. It is possible they got it all wrong on Westgate, but that does not point at failure of a system as is being alleged.
The biggest danger to investigating this attack comes from the likes of Njakip whose only fetish is the ICC and the argument that the intelligence guys spend their time looking for ICC witnesses! The only reason for such a fetish is the political drive to push the argument to achieve a certain purpose! I will not even go to the ridiculous suggestion that the attack was government planned to get some 10 million dollars from the US.
Guys, Kenyans died and others were wounded. Let us balance our quest to know between the Right and the Need to know as suggested!
|
|
|
|
Post by jakaswanga on Sept 28, 2013 13:58:45 GMT 3
I have heard a jovial version: the Israelis got bogged down in the politics of command structure in Nairobi. Kenya is a functional democracy not a banana republic. It is all very well for someone to announce THE KDF has taken over operations. But the police were there first, and re-enforcement came from the RECCE squad, at first. Switching commands mid-air is not that easy under fire. The army can not just in a democracy, assume command over the police in a combat situation without due process!So, well, in this version, foreign commandos had to wait for democracy to work! ---A great story if you ask me!  Officially anyway there was no foreign assistance accepted! All is well that ends well. Jakaswanga, I don't see anything wrong in admitting we had some help. From day one the presence of Israeli, British & American security personnel on the ground was very clear. They helped rescue quite a number of hostages as was emphasized by the survivor interviewed by Lilian Muli last night (she was rescued by Brits) , The embarrassment lay elsewhere: see DN below. The details of the cock-ups by the now heroic KDF are just beginning to filter in. The implications have not yet hit the consciousness of a nation still steeped in shock, grief and denial. These KDF guys shot the commanding officer of Recce Squad who had already secured command and control of viNtage points like the rooF-parking, before the KDF arrived. The Recce had a game plan already, and were executing it pin-point commando. Enter the KDF [ without even a map of the building! ] The Israelis were not going to jump in, with a looming firefight between two Kenyan elite units!Sinister Gen. Karangi, who not only ignored the earlier intelligence of an impending attack, has his boys execute by O God friendly fire , the real hero of the day, the officer commanding the Recce Squad. [Name withheld?] www.nation.co.ke/news/Blame-game-over-Westgate-attack/-/1056/2009266/-/9lkn7rz/-/index.html Now, b6k, read the following extract, and think it out, holding in mind the DN is being careful with what it says. The Recce did not take kindly to the execution of their commander. That was when the Israeli tactical liaison officer recognised immediately the worst nightmare in a combat situation: civil war. And waited. That word COMPLICATED the situation. I doubt we really want to know what it hides! Remember the Israeli commander, unlike Kenyan commanders, must ANSWER why he could not end the siege in 90 minutes like Yonni Netanyahu in Entebbe. So after 120 minutes in Nairobi, the truth was out ---in foreign capitals! We the Kenyans trusting the information flow from our leaders and our puppet media were still ululating our army firing anti-tank missiles at a dozen cowards in a confined space! Here is something the Kenyan Press is not saying, but policemen on the scene will tell you. The KDF tried to use the police as cannon fodder. The police refused. You will have noticed some of our cops were not in battle gear ---bullet proof vests, steel helmets and the rest. There were many people involved. So the stories will come out, slowly but surely! Or our souls will rot. That is why humans are a confessing being, --to avoid the total rot of their souls! |
|
|
|
Post by jakaswanga on Sept 28, 2013 14:22:06 GMT 3
There is a great ignorance on the workings of the security services since the promulgation of the new constitution and the enabling laws they are supposed to operate from. The government has invested considerably in its intelligence gathering and works very closely with its international friends especially in the war on terror. As I mentioned the limitations of the NIS (not NSIS)working with an old law that completely emasculates its ability to be a functional Intelligence Service and with the stalled NIS Bill in parliament because some human rights activists think that What exactly is wrong with you Kamalet! Which cave do you come from? Intellgince services in all their variants have been studied from the time of the Pharaos to today! GRU, KGB, Mossad, Mukharabat, CIA/NSA/FBI, Apartheid RSA's BOSS ---you name it! Tell us exactly what is it is some Kenyans do not know about how intelligence services operate! or stop lowering your standing on Jukwaa. I respect you here, and if you have to destroy your reputation, please go do it in another blog  . --b6k will have a suggestion about kumbaya singings! The new constitution does not limit the abilities and scope of NIS to collect intel. It limits her 'SPECIAL BRANCH MANDATE' to do it by TORTURE! SO come out in the open and say you want the constitution to expressly validate and mandate TORTURE IN OLD ITS FORMS as is done in Assad's Syria, or even the High-tech Jails of the Israelis on Palestinians. Actually we now realise Westage Mallgate was not a failure of intelligence. The information was there. The security bosses just did not bothe to act. WHY? that is the one we are wrestling our minds on! Why this insane Treason by top? |
|
|
|
Post by kamalet on Sept 28, 2013 14:38:53 GMT 3
Jakaswanga, I don't see anything wrong in admitting we had some help. From day one the presence of Israeli, British & American security personnel on the ground was very clear. They helped rescue quite a number of hostages as was emphasized by the survivor interviewed by Lilian Muli last night (she was rescued by Brits) , The embarrassment lay elsewhere: see DN below. The details of the cock-ups by the now heroic KDF are just beginning to filter in. The implications have not yet hit the consciousness of a nation still steeped in shock, grief and denial. These KDF guys shot the commanding officer of Recce Squad who had already secured command and control of viNtage points like the rooF-parking, before the KDF arrived. The Recce had a game plan already, and were executing it pin-point commando. Enter the KDF [ without even a map of the building! ] The Israelis were not going to jump in, with a looming firefight between two Kenyan elite units!Sinister Gen. Karangi, who not only ignored the earlier intelligence of an impending attack, has his boys execute by O God friendly fire , the real hero of the day, the officer commanding the Recce Squad. [Name withheld?] www.nation.co.ke/news/Blame-game-over-Westgate-attack/-/1056/2009266/-/9lkn7rz/-/index.html Now, b6k, read the following extract, and think it out, holding in mind the DN is being careful with what it says. The Recce did not take kindly to the execution of their commander. That was when the Israeli tactical liaison officer recognised immediately the worst nightmare in a combat situation: civil war. And waited. That word COMPLICATED the situation. I doubt we really want to know what it hides! Remember the Israeli commander, unlike Kenyan commanders, must ANSWER why he could not end the siege in 90 minutes like Yonni Netanyahu in Entebbe. So after 120 minutes in Nairobi, the truth was out ---in foreign capitals! We the Kenyans trusting the information flow from our leaders and our puppet media were still ululating our army firing anti-tank missiles at a dozen cowards in a confined space! Here is something the Kenyan Press is not saying, but policemen on the scene will tell you. The KDF tried to use the police as cannon fodder. The police refused. You will have noticed some of our cops were not in battle gear ---bullet proof vests, steel helmets and the rest. There were many people involved. So the stories will come out, slowly but surely! Or our souls will rot. That is why humans are a confessing being, --to avoid the total rot of their souls! Jakaswanga I would be very wary of believing everything these journalists tell you! They especially seem to have no knowledge of security matters or equipment. When they call and APC a 'tanker' then you know how badly you are doing. Whilst there is acknowledgement of friendly fire incidents, how does the media explain the death of 3 Recce Officers? Here is a view from an East African military blog: First of all, the obvious sign of a deploying SpecOps chap is an masked face. What was on prominently on Television were secondary insertions from the 20th Batt that reinforced the perimeter while the Recce chaps made initial egress and primary sweeps into the theatre - remember that the primary KDF responders were Rookies just outta Bootcamp. First SpecOps on sight were the SBS/CDU strings from Mariakani - they briefly apppeared on TV with open faces when they harried disembarked at the Theatre on Second day - KDF asked Media not to string out their photos, if you recall. Deltas moved in on fourth day, joining with the SBS to close the Theatre.
On every floor, the buggers had placed multiple 50Cal Machines guns placements every floor sighted with incredible military profeciency - remember these Malls have a fire-stairwell on either side of them. Kevlar Body Armour, such as the Recce and SOCOM wear, stops a 7.62mm but gives a kick that could knock a fella unconscious. A 5.56mm is not a challenge on Kevlar even if Full-jacketed. Now, a 50Cal will cut through Kevlar like a hot knife through butter, whether full-jacketed or not. That is what the Recce boys faced as they ended their sweeps on Second day - and CDF called in the SOCOM. Against Standard Infantry Assaault Ordnance, the Recce boys could easily have dealt with these bastards kitambo.and a little more.....Comms - Every Formation, and breaking down further within that formation, has a secure segregated Net. For purposes that you can well appreciate. But the Ops Centre has integration of all these Nets, and at each level of Command withing the Formation Commanders have capacity to surf between Nets but only with justification and for purposes of Command. Dont believe the garbage Newspapers are spewing about confusion of Comms - hell, no self-respecting Command will deploy without establishing & securing Comms, it is primary and so basic as to be equivalent to breathing. Hakuna. The blue-on-blue that resulted in the KIA of the GSU Commander has nothing to do with confusion - it was sadly expedient and integral to the evolution of the Combat Planning - usiniulize mengine juu hiyo!
As for SOCOM on Theatre - SOCOM-COS, G2 and G3 plus their integral CQB, were on site within hours of the Westgate Maneno jump-off - Standard Procedures. Remember that constitutionally, the National Police Service had jurisdiction both in sorting out domestic security threats, or calling in the Military for Support. In this event, Command completely shifts to the Military - dont believe the nonsense about the IG having Command of the SOCOM Westgate Mall Operations, NEVER can happen!!
First Military responders were those unfortunate and brave rookies thrown into the depth right out of Basic. But the 20th were soon after deployed on peripheral perimeter to support the Recce boys commencing their sweeps - and that should have worked alright until it became apparent the inordinate firepower & destruction ability & wilingness, Military-type organisation, situational awareness, the sheer brutality that Alkaida manifested at close of Day 1. By the morning, of Day 2 the first SOCOM brutes (CDU/SBS)deployed, which you all saw with unguarded visages getting off Navy Landrovers at Theatre. During all this time, planning for the eventual take-over of Theatre by SOCOM (Infra-red / X-ray and Thermal mapping, Microwave shutdown, Building Plans, Internal System surveillance, simulation on-site, a hell of a lot of preps went into this thing) at remained was an execution of the Assault Plan.
How many Colors were on Theatre?
RDU/AP, GSU H/Q Co, City-wide Flying Squad, Special Crimes Unit, GD/Blues from Westlands areas, Kenya Police Reserves Muhindis, Langata 7th, Embakasi 50th Rotaries, KAF; specialist elements the Ruiri GSU/Recce in near-full-Company, and the Gigil 20th. About a dozen unarmed BATUK fellas on rotation and others Foreign Uniforms with AMISOM on furlow; finally yours-truly - 30th with both the 'wanamaji' na pia 'wale wengine". Thrown in Marines from their Embassy Security, Mossad, G2/G3 of the IDF, UPDF in Observer mode, hell, everyone was there with a radio Comm set!! How could anyone in their right minds not have sorted out Comms in such a mix of brutal and angry armed-to-the-teeth killers? Dont believe media stories, broThis is info from someone inside what you call 'the confused side'. Every story has its two sides...you just have to sift out the wheat from the chaff and somewhere therein will be an anser! |
|
|
|
Post by mank on Sept 28, 2013 17:28:44 GMT 3
Jakaswanga, I don't see anything wrong in admitting we had some help. From day one the presence of Israeli, British & American security personnel on the ground was very clear. They helped rescue quite a number of hostages as was emphasized by the survivor interviewed by Lilian Muli last night (she was rescued by Brits) , The embarrassment lay elsewhere: see DN below. The details of the cock-ups by the now heroic KDF are just beginning to filter in. The implications have not yet hit the consciousness of a nation still steeped in shock, grief and denial. These KDF guys shot the commanding officer of Recce Squad who had already secured command and control of viNtage points like the rooF-parking, before the KDF arrived. The Recce had a game plan already, and were executing it pin-point commando. Enter the KDF [ without even a map of the building! ]... How i wish you were making that up amigo! I read it to be a sign of the rust accumulated over years as GSU's sense of war remained cracking the little heads of varsity students and civilians caught in street demonstrations. This reminds me a discussion we had here sometimes back, as to whether Kenya was ready to take Uganda on in a battle. There were those who believed that Uganda was no match for Kenya militarily. What this story seems to support though is that Kenya would get whooped pretty severely by Uganda, the latter being more tuned to real war. |
|
|
|
Post by mank on Sept 28, 2013 17:46:45 GMT 3
..... I would be very wary of believing everything these journalists tell you! They especially seem to have no knowledge of security matters or equipment. When they call and APC a 'tanker' then you know how badly you are doing. Whilst there is acknowledgement of friendly fire incidents, how does the media explain the death of 3 Recce Officers? Here is a view from an East African military blog: First of all, the obvious sign of a deploying SpecOps chap is an masked face. ....Kamale, I don't quite get much of the jargon, but I find a simple matter of curiosity. Why did the KDF need to be face masked? It seems a dangerous strategy, knowing that the terrorist is also face masked. |
|
---in jail too!
. --b6k will have a suggestion about kumbaya singings!