In retrospect, the September 21 bloody attack on a Nairobi mall, Westgate, could have been
ended within hours of the same day was it not for conflict in command from the top.
Sources confirm that they will convey this to a tribunal
appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to probe failures before, during and after the
killings. “The killing of our man (special force team leader Martin Munene) by our people (soldiers
of the Kenya Defence Force) threw a spanner in the works giving Al-Shabab (attackers) time to
cause more mayhem.”
Munene had received a telephone call while in a Kiambu road pub frequented by Kenyan Special Forces. He was the field commander of a company of the special Recce unit carved from the elite General Service Unit, an outfit
of the Kenya police.
A key insider says the call emanated from the Commander-in-Chief himself, President Uhuru
Kenyatta. The President was anxious after receiving calls
about the attack and the fact that his nephew Mbugua Mwangi and other close family members were trapped in the mall which was
under attack.
The Recce Company’s order was to access the mall and do everything within their means to get inside ArtCaffe and rescue those inside first. The mall was now under siege from the attackers inside and policemen outside who wanted to prevent looters from escaping in
what was at that time still thought to be a mall heist.
After saving a mother and two children, it is here where the whole episode reaches a
poignant moment. Munene and his special force fighters managed
to reach the shot-up café. He knew who to look for. Silently his team moved from one bullet-riddled body to another, making slashing
actions across their throats with the
forefinger.
Uncle Uhuru, his natural beloved nephew,the President was in a state needy of consolation for the Commander-in-Chief of
Kenya. It was natural to let him mull in a brief moment of grief even as Munene and his Recce
squad found more people alive and hiding in the art café.
They freed them, leaving the
dead, including Mbugua and his fiancée unmoved, their objective; to advance forward to free more people and confront their enemy.
The Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo tweeted the police assertion as being in full command of the operation.
“It is when Uhuru (the President) received confirmation from Recce (that his nephew was dead), that everything changed,” says the witness.
The President is the Commander in Chief of all the armed forces. The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Julius Waweru Karangi, is the principal military advisor to the president. The chain of command is from the President,directly to the CDF who outranks all service
branches, including the police and has operational authority over the branches like the elite “Green Berets” Company 20
Paratrooper Commando that took over operations at Westgate.
The CDF is not subordinate to the Secretary of Defence, Rachel Omamo, and vice versa, both have
constitutional direct links to the Commander-in-Chief.How did the Commander-in-Chief give two
fighting units operational command over a single objective, free Westgate from the clutches of attackers?
This is something ripe for the tribunal the president has announced will probe failures
around the shopping mall killings.
However, this is what happened.
The KDF soldiers rumbled into Westgate shopping mall with huge equipment including assorted anti-aircraft guns, tanks and all national military parade arsenals.
Their arrival was unannounced, unexpected and unwelcome to the team working on the attack. As far as the special forces of the Recce were concerned, they were working on direct orders from the commander in chief. They had killed three and three more were about to be arrested.
Munene’s gun was fired at making it explode and scatter into pieces along with his helmet. A short silence and the remaining Recce
fighters surrendered. In military operation, you retreat or surrender
when you lose your commander. If this happens within friendly force, your unit submits to the overriding authority on the ground until you are relocated duties.
“Toka … toka (get out),” Munene’s men were ordered out of their strategic positions at gunpoint by the KDF soldiers. Bereaved, they milled out slowly to be met by
reinforcements from the Israeli anti-terrorism outfit.
The KDF ordered them to leave the ground and stand in the fringes keeping the public away from coming near the mall.Then began a massive botch up and cover up
that included elements like fire.
Courtesy InformKenya
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