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2015-07-15 Africa Horn
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Scarred by Islamist attacks, Kenya set to re-open Westgate mall
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[REUTERS] Kenya's trendy Westgate shopping mall will reopen on Saturday, nearly two years after gunnies from the Somali bad boy group al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
massacred at least 67 people inside and held out for four days as security forces laid siege to the complex.
Once a totem of Kenya's growing prosperity, the Westgate building has since become symbolic of growing insecurity in the east African nation and President Uhuru Kenyatta's inability to prevent frequent Islamist attacks on Kenyan soil.
Images beamed across the world during the raid dented Kenya's image abroad and scared off tourists, hurting a vital sector of the economy. Kenya's embarrassment was compounded by Westgate security footage which showed soldiers looting the mall after the Somali snuffies were killed.
Evans Kidero, the Nairobi governor, said the September 2013 attack was "one of the saddest days in Kenyan history" but touted the re-opening of the mall as a triumph of national resilience in the face of bad boy attacks.
"They killed... our friends and relatives, but they did not kill our spirit," he told news hounds after touring the building where workmen were slapping on final licks of paint and staff were unfurling promotional banners.
Major Western brands, including Subway, KFC and Converse, plan to open stores in the new mall along with Kenyan companies such as Nakumatt, a high-end supermarket chain popular with well-heeled locals and expatriate workers.
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Posted by Fred 2015-07-15 00:00||
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File under: al-Shabaab
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