Two soldiers of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have been sacked after it was proved that they were involved in the looting of goods from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi during an attack on the mall by armed terrorists last month.
The two have also been sent to jail as conclusive investigations are on going. Another soldier is facing court martial after being found in possession of a mobile phone suspected to have been looted at the mall, KDF chief Julius Karangi told journalists during a rare press conference attended by the country’s security chiefs at the Department of Defence (DoD) headquarters Tuesday.
The names of the two soldiers who have been sacked and jailed were given as Victor Otieno, Victor Ashihundu while the one still being investigated was named as Isaiah Wanjala.
The team that enforced the sacking came with video clips to support their decision.
A CCTV footage released recently by Reuters media and circulated to different media channels showed that KDF soldiers were involved in looting of merchandise from Nakumatt and other shops on the Westgate Mall. KDF however was quick to deny the allegations.
Their decision to sack the two soldiers is therefore seen as a U-turn on their position on the widespread allegations of looting by the people who were deployed to save the lives of hundreds of Kenyans held hostage in the mall.
Besides being summarily sacked and jailed, the affected officers will lose all their terminal benefits and will also be blacklisted, meaning they cannot secure any employment in the disciplined forces or security firms.
On September 21, Westgate, an up town shopping center in the Westland of Nairobi, Kenya was attacked by Somalia based Al-qaeda terror group, Al-Shabab, killing 67 people and injuring over 180 others.
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| A victim of the Westgate attack being carried to safety. |
The names of the two soldiers who have been sacked and jailed were given as Victor Otieno, Victor Ashihundu while the one still being investigated was named as Isaiah Wanjala.
The team that enforced the sacking came with video clips to support their decision.
A CCTV footage released recently by Reuters media and circulated to different media channels showed that KDF soldiers were involved in looting of merchandise from Nakumatt and other shops on the Westgate Mall. KDF however was quick to deny the allegations.
Their decision to sack the two soldiers is therefore seen as a U-turn on their position on the widespread allegations of looting by the people who were deployed to save the lives of hundreds of Kenyans held hostage in the mall.
Besides being summarily sacked and jailed, the affected officers will lose all their terminal benefits and will also be blacklisted, meaning they cannot secure any employment in the disciplined forces or security firms.
On September 21, Westgate, an up town shopping center in the Westland of Nairobi, Kenya was attacked by Somalia based Al-qaeda terror group, Al-Shabab, killing 67 people and injuring over 180 others.