Guard honoured for Westgate bravery, honesty

Security Group’s Laura Kamu was honoured on Friday. [PHOTO: COLLINS KWEYU/STANDARD]

By ABIGAEL SUM

Nairobi, Kenya: Amid the horrific scenes witnessed during the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, there were instances of heroism. Several stories emerged of people helping others escape the slaughter that fateful day of September, last year.

But Laura Kamu’s heroic story is of a different kind. As the crack of gunshots filled the air, Kamu, a bank marshall with Security Group Africa Cash Services held on to a client’s consignment she had gone to deposit  at the bank as if her life depended on it.

On the morning of September 21, 2013, the 35-year-old woke up to her normal routine.

She reported to work at 6.00am, attended the day’s briefing and picked her trip sheet and work tools which include receipt book, banking support service book, delivery book, a key for the safe and seals.

“I then proceeded to City Cotton where I met up with the police escort and together we drove to the client’s office on Waiyaki Way to pick up the cash. After we counted and verified the amount of money, sealed the consignment and locked it in a safe, we headed to Barclays Bank at the Westgate Mall in the company of my Cash-In-Transit colleagues and armed police,” she said.

When they reached the bank, she joined the queue of customers making transactions at the counter. At a quarter past midday and it was her turn.

She had unsealed the consignment, ready to deposit the money when hell broke loose.

“I heard something like a car tyre burst. It was followed two minutes later by a louder bang accompanied by I now knew to be a burst of gunfire.”

Her first instinct was to secure the Sh2 million under her care.

Amidst the confusion of people screaming and scampering for safety, others trying to save their loved ones, shattering glass, she saw a gunman strapped with an ammunition belt firing at people.

Dead people

As gunshots and explosions rang out in the mall, she took the money, stuffed it in a bag and manoeuvred her way to a storage room and joined others who were hiding there.

“After seeing a man get shot, the barrage of gunfire, people screaming I scared and was confused. The room we took refuge in was so small, it wasn’t enough to accommodate all of us but some miracle I managed to squeeze in,” she recalls.

“We probably thought the gunfire would be short-lived but soon realised something far more terrifying was going on.”

Inside the storage room she called the office emergency line for help. She was informed that the mall was under siege and was instructed to stay put.

They were jammed in that small room for six hours.

Thoughts of her family and her life, raced through her head.

“So many thoughts swirled in my mind the whole time. I cried until there was no more tears. I kept telling myself to stay positive and calm. I then left everything in God’s hands,” she said.

“Some people were crying, some people were holding each other, Some people just stayed calm, quiet. We literally held our breaths and waited. All this time I did not let go of the money. I was lucky because no one noticed what I was carrying.”

Finally help arrived

“There was a knock on the door followed by a directive to open the door. None of us moved a muscle because we thought they have come to finish us. But then a man called out and identified himself as a police officer: “I’m with the police and you are safe. We are here to help you.” We breathed a sigh of relief.”

“We were quickly evacuated and were instructed to head to the exit while bending. I was the last one to leave the room with the money on my back.”

“My throat was parched and my legs weak. The heavy load on my back did not make things any easier. I fell down several times each time landing on a lifeless body. There was blood all over, bullet cartridges, broken glass and chipped concrete from the pillars.”

“We could still hear shots being fired. At some point I tried to move but my left leg wouldn’t budge. I was given water and I managed to gather some strength,” she recalled.

When she was finally out, her colleagues escorted her to their employer’s security vaults for the safe storage of the cash.

Kamu’s honesty and bravery has won her admiration from her colleagues, a monetary reward and a promotion. She was also named employee of the year.

She received a certificate of appreciation from the Edmund van Tongeren, chairman Security Group Africa, cash award of Sh50,000 and earned a promotion to become a senior bank marshal.