{UAH} THE KENYAN GOVERNMENT IS NOW TERRORISING ITS OWN PEOPLE

Agony of families awaiting forensic report on fate of missing relatives

Updated Saturday, September 28th 2013 at 23:17 GMT +3

Families of victims of the Westgate attack who have not traced their loved ones will have to wait longer.

Tears trickle down Gladys Mosanko’s cheeks as her hopes of finding her uncle dwindle day after day. The last time she talked to him was when he told her that he was hiding inside the mall.

“He spoke to me on the phone which went off 12 hours later on Sunday evening,” said a troubled Mosanko. She later called in to say she had found him at the City Mortuary.

When The Standard on Sunday visited the Westgate Mall yesterday, five families were camping near the shopping mall as the police kept them at bay. Psychologists had asked them not to speak to the media.

The Kenya Red Cross Society says 71 persons are still missing. The number of bodies trapped inside the rubble is still unknown. Forensic experts are combing the area for evidence. By Friday, not all trapped bodies had been retrieved.

Red Cross boss Abass Gullet said police have all the reports on persons who are still missing.

“We know there are dead bodies inside, we are only waiting for forensic officials to complete their work before we move in. But all we have to do is to verify first,” Gullet said.

For security reasons, the exact number of missing persons could not be disclosed to the public.

“We have given the police all the information. They are the ones who will tell you,” Red Cross director of external affairs Wariko Waita.

Families looking for their loved ones have pitched camp at Uhuru Park, City and Lang’ata mortuaries and Visa Oshwal Centre in the hope that they will find them. The Red Cross and psychologists who have been counseling victims of the attack and their families are keeping the list of missing persons secret.

Dr Gladys Mwiti, the chair of the Kenya Psychologists Association, said her team of over 400 psychologists have counseled family members searching for their loved ones who are now feared to have been buried beneath the rubble.

Asked about the number of families that have been counselled, the psychologist remained non-committal.

 

 

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