Kin, friends of Westgate victims put on brave face at memorial

Rupal Shah (left) lay a flower in memory of her fallen husband Mitul Shah who died at the Westgate terrorist attack. With her is Hitesh Shah from Sukuma Twende group. PHOTO DAVID NJAAGA/STANDARD

NAIROBI: The soothing forest ambience gave families and friends of the Westgate attack victims a reason to smile when they gathered Sunday for the annual memorial at the Amani Gardens in Karura forest.

Some of them were momentarily overcome by emotions. However, the mourning session did not last long as minutes later, the mood changed to laughter and warm smiles.

They later planted flowers and lit candles in memory of the departed souls.

At least 67 people perished during the terror attack that happened exactly two years ago.

Hundreds of others were injured when assailants, associated with Somali militants Al Shabaab, put the mall under siege, trapping shoppers.

Shantal Mariotte from the environmental civil society group, Friends of Karura Forest, said the establishment of the memorial garden in the forest was meant to be therapeutic to the people who will be visiting the area.

"This was not meant to be a sad place. It is not a grave yard but a happy place. The good serene environment of the forest is meant to sooth the families making them remember the happy times they had with their loved ones," said Mariotte to The Standard.

Mariotte said that the garden was initiated by the organisation on realisation that most of the people who died used to be frequent visitors to the forest.

"Most of the children from Oshwal Academy do come here for picnics and educational tours with their teachers and parents. We want to embrace them as we understand some of them lost their families and friends during the attack." she said

She added that the increase of traffic in the forest on construction of the garden has made them think of equipping the forest.

"We have reintroduced the colobus monkey species, which was extinct and now their population stands at 90. We believe this will not only attract mourners but also the tourists, most of whom are locals."

Karura Forest is a popular venue for local schools who visit the forest for educational purposes. It is estimated that annually, Karura forests hosts over 240,000 local tourists.

Meanwhile, Kenya Red Cross (KRC) was forced to cancel its plans for the annual memorial following security threats.

"We had arranged for a walk dubbed 'Walk of Terror' but later cancelled it. This was the same for the vigil at the Westgate Shopping Mall. However, we have organised a blood donation drive at our Parklands branch," said Mohammed Abubakar from the KRC Communication office in Parklands.