Kenya’s Westgate Mall Set to Reopen two years atfer attack
TVC NEWS
Kenya’s Westgate mall, the scene of a four-day siege in late 2013 that left dozens dead, will reopen to the public on Saturday for the first time since the attack.
The announcement came after officials toured the Westgate site, and which was receiving its final touches, ahead of its eagerly awaited reopening on July 18th.
East Africa correspondent Ken Karuri reports that twenty two months after the deadly massacre at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, the once symbol of Kenya’s growing wealth and cosmopolitan flair is now set to re-open to the public on Saturday.
The high end mall, popular among expatriates and the Nairobi elite, has been closed since the deadly attack in September 2013 that left at least 67 people dead.
Nairobi governor Evans Kidero said the first phase of the reconstruction of the mall cost $18 Million
Nakumatt Supermarkets, a leading retailer in east Africa, will anchor the revamped mall. Though the retail giant lost some of its employees during the massacre it is optimistic of brighter days ahead.
Reconstruction of the second phase of the mall has already started and the mall’s director Alex Tranchtenberg said almost all the previous tenants had booked in space in the refurbished mall.
In the 22 months since the deadly assault, al Shabaab has regularly hit Kenya with a series of attacks mainly in the north eastern region.
The group says the attacks are in response to Kenya’s deployment of troops in an African Union-led force that has been beating back the militants in Somalia.