Police swoop nets tens of youth in slum

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI; KENYA: Tens of youths were Saturday night detained in a police swoop in Majengo slums as part of efforts to track the attackers who killed shoppers at the Westgate Shopping Mall, Nairobi.

Lorries of police moved into the slum in a swoop that saw unknown number of youths detained for questioning.

Officers from Anti-Terrorism Police Unit led the operation and said they were pursuing leads on some wanted people.

“We are looking for serious leads into this incident. It is a serious web that needs time and patience to crack,” said one investigator.

Some of the attackers spotted at the mall were said to be youths from Majengo area, which is on the radar over claims it’s the main breeding ground of terrorism in the country.

Several reports have mentioned mosques in the area as being the ones used to recruit youths into terrorism and Somalia’s Al-Shabaab gang.

Police said investigations have only just begun into the attack.

Samples from five bodies thought to be of terrorists have taken for analysis. The bodies are being kept at one of the mortuaries in Nairobi and none has been claimed so far.

One of the bodies is of a man who was shot by a team of police officers who went into the mall to rescue those who were trapped before the arrival of Kenya Defence Forces officers.

He was injured and died in hospital. An AK47 rifle was recovered from him in the exchange that saw one officer also wounded in the leg.

Police said it was possible some of the attackers escaped during the mass evacuation of civilians from the mall in Westlands.