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Abdul Haji helping a woman and her daughter to safety. — independent.co.uk

In the event of a tragedy like the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on September 21, not only is it easy to be distracted from focusing on real issues, but chances are that you might end up downgrading the senseless loss of human life and destruction to property.
Since terrorism is an international concern, the other downside is that it can easily be hijacked by the FBI, CIA, MI6, Mossad and others who believe that they have the technical expertise and know-how. This is the tragedy facing the African continent, not just necessarily Kenya. The Sunday Mail editorial of September 29 (“Westgate is closer than we think”) aptly paints this reality inasmuch it was a call to vigilance by the Central Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (Cissa), which is currently chaired by Zimbabwe.

The downgrading happens because the event might be too confounding. It is in this light that I noted with concern how the real story of the terrorist bombing was slowly receding into oblivion, with non-essential issues taking centre stage.

When something like this happens, you start asking why so much time is being devoted on so-called heroes at the expense of the carnage at the mall.

When you want to know who the victims were and their nationalities, and also learn more about who was behind these atrocities, you realise that heroic exploits by some have assumed a larger than life agenda.

It’s more than a week since the attack took place, and we still do not have all the information to arrive at sensible conclusions. We might know why, but the information being given out is not enough to enable other governments and nationalities to realise the essence of remaining vigilant.

Even the figures of the affected people have been changing so regularly making it difficult to say with certainty how this terrorist attack has affected people. For example, how many bodies are under the rubble, and why has it taken so long to retrieve them?

When so many questions remain unanswered, why then fall into the trap of wanting to stand taller than everybody else, instead of allowing the people of Kenya to be commended for remaining calm in the face of such a fluid situation?  The media being the media use such opportunities to best advantage, but in the process still fail to objectively inform readers, viewers and listeners.  Why would some people even contemplate that, considering that dozens of people died and more were injured and the Westgate mall which sustained hundreds of families through various jobs remains closed, and might be for quite some time?

“Our saviour”: The ex-British soldier (face blurred), with gun in his right pocket, helps two women to safety. His identity has allegedly been protected for security reasons”. – Jennifer Huxta/Barcroft media

For lack of a better term, let me say that maybe it was not his fault, but in my view, Kenyan businessman Abdul Haji should have refused to be abused by the media.  His image was among the first to be shown around the world and I’m sure that many people wondered who this plain-clothed man with a pistol was. Was he a plainclothes security detail or what?

But after a few interviews he gave the day after (not procedural in many jobs), we learnt that he is a businessman and the son of Kenya’s former security minister. We also learnt that he responded to the attack in a bid to rescue his brother, an undercover officer, who according to a report in The Telegraph works for “intelligence agencies”, and who had been trapped in the mall. Again, is this procedural that a man in the line of duty should call family members and not his superiors?

It was also reported that the gun that Abdul was using was registered in his name. Apparently, he was not the only civilian with a firearm who responded to the attack. He did a sterling job like hundreds other people, and was called a hero in a number of media reports. Was this because of his status?

One report was headlined “US family rescued by ‘hero’ of Nairobi mall attack”. However, those who wanted to say thank you to Abdul seemed to have forgotten to tell the world about the brother he went to rescue. Small details like this make a difference, especially when you read reports about the apparent “bungling” by the security sector.

Then, the UK’s Daily Mail also has the story of “a British hero of the mall massacre”, an ex-Royal Marine (SAS in other reports) who (allegedly) saved 100 lives as terrorists ran amok.” Who did the counting, and did a siege that lasted four days allow for this?
The report in the Daily Mail reads: “A former marine emerged as a hero of the Nairobi siege yesterday after he was credited with saving 100 lives. The ex-soldier was having coffee at the Westgate mall when it was attacked by Islamists on Saturday. With a gun tucked into his waistband, he was pictured helping two women from the complex . . . ”

The Westgate mall attack was real. People lost lives. Some were maimed, while others might never recover from the trauma. It was not some James Bond movie where heroes are idolised as macho.

Why also conceal his identity on pictures if he is a retired soldier? What is there to hide? If some people played meaningful roles, which resulted in many lives being saved, fair and fine, but they cannot be bigger than the people who lost life and limb in that carnage.
These brave hearts will get their badges of honour later, but for now, their stories are clouding and trivialising the main story, which is the terrorist attack.

This is also a dangerous precedent considering that Al-Shabaab has threatened to strike again, and also considering that the Kenyan authorities still have to confirm the number of terrorists who undertook the attack; how many they killed; how many they arrested and how many escaped.

My reading was that the talk about these heroes was meant to tell the world that the Kenyan security forces did not do a good job. On October 1, The New York Times ran a story, “During siege at Kenyan mall, government forces seemed slow to respond”.

This was a running story considering that documents from Kenya’s National Intelligence Services (NIS) about possible terrorist attacks had been leaked to the media.

When you read the story, you note that it is another report pitting these so-called heroes against the security forces: “When the first shots of automatic gunfire burst out, Raju, a member of a local gun club, was waiting in line in a bank at the Westgate mall. He crouched down, pulled out his phone and feverishly pecked out a text message: ‘I am inside and I can confirm this is not a robbery’.

“Within minutes, his fellow gun club members, neighbourhood watch volunteers, off-duty police officers and other armed Samaritans rushed to the mall. They found no command centre, no SWAT team — in short, no co-ordinated government response . . . ”

Since President Uhuru Kenyatta has set up a commission of inquiry, we hope that all these people will testify, because it’s as if there were many guns on the loose apart from those of the terrorists and the security forces.  Why do civilians in Kenya need firearms and why should they move around armed? What are the gun laws in Kenya like? Why was a retired British soldier also moving around armed in a foreign land?

Which takes me to the other issues — who is in charge of this operation and what is Kenya’s position vis-à-vis the many “experts” that are now on Kenyan soil?

President Kenyatta has maintained that the terrorist attack will not see them leave Somalia. They will fight on until final victory. However, do operations by foreign experts reduce Africa and Kenya’s involvement to being spokespersons of Western powers that are currently running the show, from forensic specialists to intelligence personnel?

Whose interests are they serving — Kenyans’ or those of their own nationalities who were both victims and perpetrators of this heinous and barbarous act?  So far, all fingers are pointing at Samantha Lewthwaite (White Widow), a British national as one of the brains and executioners of this terror attack.

Being a member of a terrorist organisation does not exonerate an individual from their nationality. Lewthwaite is still as British as those Somali militants who are members of Al-Shabaab. So, too, the other foreign nationals implicated.

Thus, Kenya and the other African Union members fighting Somali militants should now bear in mind that these are not just Islamist militants, but that they are now fighting terrorists of many nationalities including British, American, Canadian and other European nationals. It’s hypocrisy and double standards for Western governments to accuse Kenya and South Africa of not acting on intelligence information they provided when they know full well that their nationals are part of the plot, in some cases directing it as well.
This is why it is also reprehensible to turn the Westgate attack into some form of a Hollywood movie.